
The 
War at a Glance 

June 28, 1914 to December 31, 1916 

S. J. Duncan-Clark 



Events 
Battles 
Campaigns 
Statistics 



The 
War at a Glance 

by 
S. J. Duncan-Clark 



CHICAGO 
1917 



339 



COPYRIGHT 1917 

BY 

S. J. DUNCAN-CLARK 



©CI.A453738 
JRNII19I7 



WHAT AND WHY/' 



This little book is meant purely as a 
handbook for ready reference. It has no 
literary pretensions, and no claim to be a 
contribution to serious discussion of war 
problems. For the reader who wants to 
get a date in a hurry, or to refresh his 
memory concerning any particular cam- 
paign or event of significant importance it 
is hoped it will live up to its title "The 
War at a Glance." 

The writer had made a vow to himself 
that he would not perpetrate a war book. 
His excuse is that just this kind of book has 
not been done by anybody else, so far as he 
knows. 

The bold marginal headings are a quick 
eye guide to the matter in the body of the 
type. ''The War Month by Month" makes 
it possible to find quickly important events. 
'"The Great Campaigns" gives a condensed 
survey of the big movements of the war. 
The tables are careful estimates based on 
such figures as were available before the 
end of the year. 

The writer is indebted to Mr. Frank H. 
Simonds, of the New York Tribune, whose 
two volumes on ''The Great War" have 
been used for reference, and to the New 
York Times* "Current History," an in- 
valuable source of information. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



Page 

Africa, War in 92 

Battles, Land: 

Champagne 77 

Donajec 77 

Liege 69 

Lodz 74 

Marne 71 

Mazurian Lakes 75 

Mons and Charleroi 69 

Neuve Chapelle 7 6 

Somme 78 

Tanneberg 73 

Verdun 77 

Ypres, First Battle 74 

Ypres, Second Battle 76 

Yser 73 

Battles, Naval: 

Coronel 79 

Falkland Islands 79 

Jutland 79 

North Sea 79 

Belgium, Germany in 95 

British Colonies in the War 96 

British War Charity 96 

Campaigns, the Great: 

Armenia, Russian Campaign in 59 

Austrian Campaign Against Italy 60 

Belgium, Conquest of 41 

Galicia, Russian Campaigns in 47 



Campaigns, the Great — Continued: 

Gallipoli 54 

German Campaigns for Warsaw 50 

Italian Isonzo Campaign 63 

Macedonia 67 

Mesopotamia 57 

Mons to the Marne 43 

Return of the Russians 61 

Roumania 64 

Serbia's Victorious Defense 46 

Serbia Conquered by Austrians 53 

Chronology of the War Month by Month. 5-37 

Cost of War 87 

Declarations of War 83 

Distance Measurements 98 

Fighting Forces 84 

Greece, Why Allies Are in 93 

Losses of War, Human 85 

Military Terms 97 

Prisoners of War 81 

Sieges 80 

Submarine Losses 91 

Territory Conquered 89 

Zeppelin Raids 90 



THE WAR MONTH BY MONTH 

June 28, 1914 to December 31, 1916 



A Serbian assassinated the Archduke The Spark 
Francis Ferdinand, heir to the throne of That 
Austria-Hungary, and his wife, the Duch- Exploded 
ess of Hohenberg, in the streets of Sara- Europe. 
jevo, capital of Bosnia, on June 28, 1914. 
The deed is supposed to have been a mad 
protest against the annexation of Bosnia 
and Herzegovina. Austria charged that 
the assassin represented an organization 
with headquarters in Belgrade, Serbia. 

Following a speech that reassured the cap- Julyi 1914. 
itals of Europe, made in the Austrian par- 
liament by Count Tisza about the middle 
of July, Austria sent an ultimatum to 
Serbia on July 23, demanding a reply in 
48 hours. Foreign ambassadors at Vienna 
immediately warned their governments 
that the situation was serious. The tone 
of the ultimatum suggested the most 
dangerous possibilities. On July 25, at 
5 :45 p. m. Serbia answered, astonishing 
the world by accepting all but one of 
eleven demands made by Austria. She 
refused only to permit Austrian agents to 
engage in the work of suppressing an al- 
leged anti-Austrian movement on Serb- 
ian territory. She agreed, however, to 
report to Austrian agents the progress of 
her own efforts in this direction. In con- 
clusion she offered, if Austria were not 



satisfied with her concessions, to submit 
the whole matter to The Hague or any 
tribunal constituted by the Great Powers. 
The Austrian minister in Belgrade, a few 
minutes after receiving Serbia's reply, 
asked for his papers, severed diplomatic 
relations and left for Vienna. The reply 
was not considered. It w^as barely read. 
Manifestly he had his instructions. 

Events followed in rapid succession. 
Wires buzzed with the passing of diplomatic 
communications. Statesmen and rulers 
conferred in every capital of Europe. 

July 27 — England proposed to Germany 
that the points at issue between Austria 
and Serbia be considered at a conference 
of Germany, France, Italy and Great 
Britain. Germany declined the proposal 
by which peace might have been pre- 
served. Russia opened direct negotiations 
with Vienna for a peaceful settlement. 
Vienna refused to discuss her ultimatum to 
Serbia. Serbia and Austria mobilized. Rus- 
sia mobilized five army corps. 

July 28 — Austria declared war on Serbia, 
and hostilities began at once. Germany 
mobilized her fleet. 

July 29 — The bombardment of Belgrade 
began. Russia mobilized in her southwest- 
ern provinces, without menace to Ger- 
many, and renewed her effort to negotiate 
with Vienna. 

July 30 — The semi-official Lokal Anzeiger, 
of Berlin, issued an extra edition con- 



taining a decree for the general mobiliza- 
tion of the German army. It was im- 
mediately suppressed, but not before word 
of it reached Petrograd. At the same 
time Germany demanded that Russia 
cease mobilizing within twenty-four 
hours. Russia answered by a general mob- 
ilization order. 

July 31 — England, having made every ef- 
fort either to prevent war or localize it, 
asked France and Germany if they would 
respect the neutrality of Belgium. France 
promptly agreed. Germany made no re- 
ply. 

On the first day of August Germany de- Aug^t, 
clared war on Russia and made public 1914. 
her suppressed mobilization order. The 
following day England assured France 
she would use her fleet to protect the 
French north coast. On the same day a 
German patrol crossed the French fron- 
tier at Cirey. 

August 3 — Germany served an ultimatum 
on Belgium, demanding right of passage 
across her territory. It was at once re- 
jected. Germany declared war on France 
and Belgium, and German troops entered 
the tovrn of Arion, across the Belgian 
frontier. Italy broke with the triple al- 
liance, asserting her neutrality because 
her former allies were not engaging in de- 
fensive warfare. 

August 4 — Great Britain sent an ulti- 
matum to Germany demanding that she 



respect the neutrality of Belgium and 
answer by midnight. Germany's answer 
through Herr von Jagow, secretary of 
state, was **No." Chancellor von Beth- 
mann HoUweg denounced Great Britain 
for putting such stress on the mere word 
** neutrality*' and on a ** scrap of paper." 
At midnight in London it was announced 
a state of war existed between Great 
Britain and Germany. While this was 
happening the German guns were open- 
ing the bombardment of Liege. 

August 7 — German troops penetrate Liege. 
French invasion of Alsace begins. 

August 8 — First British troops land in 
France. 

August 11 — German sweep through north- 
Belgium begins. 

August 14 — French troops enter Belgium 
near Charleroi. 

August 15 — Czar promises restoration of 
Poland. 

August 18 — Russians begin invasion of 
East Prussia. 

August 20 — Germans occupy Brussels; 
Belgians retire on Antwerp. 

August 21 — French defeated in Alsace. 
Germans attack Namur, and advance on 
Mons and Charleroi. British troops 
reach Mons. 

August 22 — Germans take Namur, and 
battle of Mons-Charleroi begins. 

s 



August 23 — French defeated at Charleroi, 
and Anglo-French retreat from Belgium 
begins. Russians advance in East Prussia. 
Austrians are driven from Serbia. Japan 
declares war on Germany. 

August 26 — New French ministry formed. 
Anglo-French forces continue retreat. 
Louvain is burned. Russians win in East 
Prussia, occupying Allenstein, and begin 
attack on Lemberg, in Galicia. 

August 29 — Germans pass second line of 
French defense. 

August 31 — Allies fall back on Paris and 
the Seine. 

The month is memorable for the battle September, 
of the Marne; Von Hindenburg's victory 1914. 
at Tannenberg; the fall of Lemberg and 
the beginning of the siege of Antwerp. 

September 1 — Von Kluck's army reaches 
Senlis, 25 miles north of Paris. Von Hin- 
denburg routs the Russians at Tannenberg, 
and Russians occupy Lemberg, in Galicia. 

September 3 — French government leaves 
Paris for Bordeaux. Von Kluck begins 
his turning movement toward the Marne. 

September 6 — Battle of the Marne begins 
with attack on Von Kluck 's flank. 

September 7 — Von Kluck begins retreat of 
German right wing. 

September 10 — ^Whole German army in re- 
treat from Marne. 



September 12 — Battle of the Aisne begins. 

September 21 — The U-9 sinks British 
cruisers Cressy, La Hogue and Aboukir 
in North Sea. 

September 24 — Germans reach Niemen 
river in Russia, and drive wedge across 
Meuse at St. Mihiel, south of Verdun. 

September 28 — Siege of Antwerp begins. 

October, The extension of the battle line to the 
1914. North Sea coast, and the beginning of 
trench warfare in France and Flanders 
characterize this month. In the east the 
Germans reached Warsaw and were driven 
back, and Turkey entered the war. Re- 
bellion broke out in South Africa. 

October 4 — The Germans, having been de- 
feated on the Niemen, fall back on the 
East Prussian frontier. Belgian govern- 
ment leaves Antwerp for Ostend. 

October 8 — Antwerp surrenders, and Ger- 
mans enter the following day. 

October 12 — The Maritz-Beyer-De Wet re- 
bellion begins in South Africa. 

October 13 — Belgian government leaves 
Ostend for Havre. 

October 14 — British take Ypres. 

October 17 — Germans reach the Vistula, in 
Russia, and bombard Warsaw and Ivan- 
gorod. 

10 



October 20 — Germans begin retreat from 
Vistula. 

October 24-31 — Germans attempt to break 
Belgian line on Yser, and are repulsed in 
terrific battle. 

October 29 — Turkey begins war on Russia 
without notice, bombarding Black Sea 
ports. 

Among the big events of the month were November, 
the first battle of Ypres, ending in a Brit- 1914. 
ish victory ; the naval battle off Chili ; the 
death of Lord Roberts ; the surrender of 
Kiao-Chau to the Japanese; the Russian 
conquest of Galicia; the battle of Lodz, 
in Poland and the crushing of the South 
African rebellion. 

November 1-15 — First battle of Ypres. In 
this battle the city was destroyed, but the 
British, aided by the French, held it 
against the desperate assaults of the fa- 
mous Prussian Guard, under the eyes of 
the Kaiser. German losses for the battles 
of the Yser and of Ypres are estimated at 
fully 150,000. 

November 1 — Naval battle of Coronel, off 
coast of Chili, in which the British lost 
the Monmouth and Good Hope. 

November 3 — First German naval raid on 
British coast. 

November 5 — Russians capture Jaroslav, 
in Galicia, and Austrian offensive )col- 
Lapses. 

11 



November 17 — Japanese eapture Kiao- 
Ohau. 

November 9 — German raider Emden sunk 
off Cocos Island by British cruiser Syd- 
ney. 

November 11 — Russians invest Przemysl, 
Austrian fortress in Galicia. 

November 14 — Death of Lord Roberts in 
France. 

November 19 — Germans, in effort to 
reach Warsaw by Christmas begin battle 
of Lodz, in Poland. 

November 25 — German army corps of 40,- 
000 captured near Lodz. Battle contin- 
nes. 

November 30 — Austrians drive Serbians 
from Belgrade. 

December, The Christmas month brought the end of 
1914. the South African rebellion, the destruc- 
tion of the German squadron off the Falk- 
land Islands, the end of the second great 
German offensive in Poland, and the re- 
occupation of Belgrade by the Serbians. It 
also saw the raid on Scarborough, Hartle- 
pool and Whitby, English east coast 
towns. England declared a protectorate 
over Egypt. 

December 1 — Collapse of South African 
rebellion with capture of DeWet. 

December 3 — Battle of Lodz, begun No- 
vember 19, ends in defeat of Russians 
who evacuate the city. 

12 



December 8 — British fleet avenges loss at 
Coronel by sinking the Gneisenau, Scham- 
horst, Nurnberg and Leipzig in fight off 
the Falkland Islands. 

December 12 — Austrians begin new of- 
fensive in western Galicia. 

December 14 — Serbians reoccupy Bel- 
grade. 

December 16 — German cruisers raid Eng- 
lish east coast, bombarding Scarborough, 
Whitby and Hartlepool, killing over 100 
men, women and children noncombatants. 

December 17 — England declares a protec- 
torate over Egypt. 

December 22 — German campaign against 
Warsaw is halted on the Bzura river, 
where a state of trench siege ensues and 
stretches across Poland. 

December 25 — British fleet and aero- 
planes make Christmas raid on German 
port of Cuxhaven. 

December 29 — Allies gain ground in Flan- 
ders between Nieuport and Ypres. 

The sinking of the British battleship January, 
Formidable in the English Channel, with 1915. 
a loss of 700 lives began the New Year. 
Throughout the month there was much 
hard fighting along the whole western 
front. The Russians invaded Bukowina. 
The German cruiser Blucher was sunk in 
battle in the North Sea. 

13 



January 1 — German submarine sinks the 
Formidable. 

Januaey 4 — Russians invade Bukowina; 
French capture Steinbach, in Alsace. 

January 12 — French launch an offensive 
on the Aisne near Soissons. 

January 13 — Germans, reinforced, defeat 
French at Soissons, capturing five miles 
of trenches and over 3,000 prisoners. 

January 16 — Austrians dismayed over 
/ Russian progress in Galicia and the Car- 
I pathian passes bring up heavy artillery 

to defend Donajec river front. 

January 24 — Vice- Admiral Beatty defeats 
German squadron in North Sea, sinking 
the Blucher and damaging two other 
cruisers. British cruisers Lion and Tiger 
suffer. 

January 28 — Great battle for control of 
southern Galicia and the Carpathians be- 
gins. 

February, A short month, but crowded with big 
1915. events. It saw the opening of the Dar- 
danelles campaign; the proclamation of 
a naval war zone for submarine operations 
by Germany ; the disastrous defeat of the 
Russians in the Mazurian lake regions, 
and the terrifi<} fighting in the Baltic prov- 
inces, Poland and Galicia. 

February 3 — Turkish attempts to invade 
Egypt meet crushing repulse east of Suez 
canal. 

14 



February 4 — Germany proclaims a war 
zone around British Isles, and begins her 
submarine blockade. 

February 5 — Russians defeat Germans un- 
der Von Mackensen with terrible slaugh- 
ter. 

February 9 — Russians invade East Prussia 
again, crossing Angerapp river. 

February 12 — Von Hindenburg routs Rus- 
sians in Mazurian lake region, taking 50,- 
000 prisoners. 

February 16 — French advance on two 
mile front in Champagne. 

February 19 — Anglo-French fleet opens 
bombardment of forts at entrance to the 
Dardanelles. 

The month closed with the Russians on 
the offensive along their whole front; the 
French taking trenches in the Champagne, 
and the Germans advancing west of the 
Vosges. In trhis month President Wilson 
sent his famous * 'strict accountability" 
note to Berlin. 

The battle of the Champagne ; the battle March, 1915. 
of Neuve Chapelle ; the surrender of Prze- 
mysl to the Russians, and the sinking of 
the Bouvet, Ocean and Irresistible in the 
Dardanelles are the striking features of 
this month. 

March 1 — British announce blockade of 
German ports. 

15 



March 1-10 — Battle of the Champagne, in 
which the French advanced through the 
first and second line German trenches, 
but were checked before reaching the 
railroad which was their objective. Ger- 
mans estimated French loss at 45,000 men. 

March 6 — ^Venizelos, premier of Greece, 
resigns. Constantine 's usurpation of au- 
tocratic power begins. 

March 10 — British attack Neuve Chapelle 
and capture it the following day. Ger- 
man loss 18,000. British loss heavy es- 
pecially in officers. Victory only partial 
owing to mistakes of General French's 
subordinates. 

March 18 — French battleship Bouvet, and 
British battleships Ocean and Irresistible 
sunk by floating mines in the Dardanelles. 

March 22 — Surrender of Przemysl, Aus- 
trian fortress in Galicia, after siege that 
began on November 11, 1914. Whole gar- 
rison captured with many guns. 

March 30 — Great Russian drive across 
Carpathians begins. 

April, 1915. This spring month was marked by the 
great Russian advance in the Carpathians 
that threatened an invasion of Hungary. 
On the western front the French made a 
vigorous campaign in the Woevre, east ol 
the Meuse, and the second battle of Ypres 
Avas won by the allies through the courage 
of the Canadian troops who stopped the 
gap caused by the first use of poisonous 

16 



gas. Submarine activity increased. The 
allies landed troops on the Gallipoli pe- 
ninsula. 

April 5 — Russians emerge from Dukla and 
Lupkow passes on Hungarian side, and 
gain in Uzsok pass. 

April 6 — French open campaign in 
Woevre district, east of Meuse, in effort 
to destroy St. Mihiel salient. 

April 9 — French take Les Eparges, on 
northern flank of St. Mihiel salient. Ger- 
man losses heavy. 

April 16 — Russian successes continue in 
Carpathians. 

April 22-28 — Second battle of Ypres in 
which Germans force retreat of French 
colonial troops by use of gas. Canadians 
block enemy's advance, holding gap for 
three days. Germans are repulsed and 
driven back across the Yser. 

April 22-26 — French and British troops 
are landed on Gallipoli peninsula in face 
of terrific fire from Turks. 

April 30 — Russian campaign in Carpa- 
thians slackening. Allies establish posi- 
tions on tip of Gallipoli peninsula. 

It was the month of fate for Russia, wit- May, 1915. 
nessing the great drive of Von Macken- 
sen across Galicia and into Volhynia, with 
the loss of all gains in the Carpathians. 
It was also the month of the war's most 
diabolical deed — ^the sinking of the Lusi- 

17 



tania. On the western front there was 
severe fighting around Ypres, and the 
French opened an offensive north of Ar- 
ras. Italy declared war on Austria and 
crossed the Isonzo. A coalition govern- 
ment was formed in Great Britain. 

May 3 — Yon Mackensen wins great vic- 
tory along the Donajec river in west Gali- 
cia, breaking the Russian line and taking 
30,000 prisoners. 

May 6 — Russian aviators bombard Con- 
stantinople; allies make progress on Gal- 
lipoli peninsula. 

May 7 — U-39 sinks the Lusitania off the 
Old Head of Kinsale, Ireland, at 2 :05 P. 
M. 1,154 persons are drowned or killed 
by the shock, including many women and 
children. Among the dead are 102 Amer- 
icans. 

May 10 — President Wilson in speech at 
Philadelphia says: *^ There is such a 
thing as a man being too proud to fight; 
there is such a thing as a nation being so 
right that it does not need to convince 
others by force that it is right.*' French 
offensive develops north of Arras. 

May 12 — Teutons cross the San in Gali- 
cia. 

May 13 — President Wilson sends his Lusi- 
tania note to Germany demanding repara- 
tion for loss of American lives. 

May 21 — Australians and New Zealanders 
defeat Turks on Gallipoli peninsula. We 
begin to hear about the **Anzac'' region. 

18 



May 22 — Italy declares war on Austria. 

]\Iay 23 — British advance east of Festu- 
bert. 

JVIay 26 — Great Britain forms coalition 
cabinet under Asquitli. 

j\Iay 29 — Teutons fight desperately to re- 
capture Przemysl. 

]\iAY 31 — French capture German posi- 
tions in ''The Labyrinth" north of Arras. 

The beginning of summer was signal- June, 1915. 
ized by the resignation of William Jen- 
nings BvysLn as Secretary of State. The 
i^ussian retreat in Galicia continued. The 
French maintained their offensive north of 
Arras, making fui'ther gains. The allies 
advanced on the Gallipoli peninsula. The 
Austrians recaptured Przemysl. 

June 2 — Przemysl is recaptured by the 
Teutons. 

June 3 — British advance in Mesopotamia. 

June 9 — Secretary of State Bryan resigns. 

June 10 — President sends second Lusi- 
tania note. 

June 17 — French carry several lines of 
German trenches north of Arras. 

June 22 — Teutons recapture Lemberg. 

June 29 — Teutons drive north from Gali- 
cia into Poland behind the Vistula. 

19 



June 30 — British take Turk positions 
known as the Quadrilateral on Gallipoli 
peninsula. 

July, 1915. In this month the Teutons closed in on 
Warsaw and Ivangorod. Fighting with 
varying fortunes continued on the west- 
ern front. The Italians made progress, 
and the allies gained ground on Gallipoli. 
German Southwest Africa surrendered to 
the British. 

July 8 — German Southwest Africa sur- 
renders. 

July 10 — German offensive develops north 
of the Vistula. 

July 19 — Tremendous battle opens in Po- 
land on 900 mile front, from Baltic to 
Bessarabia. Italians make great gains 
on Austrian front. 

July 21 — Austrian troops invest Ivango- 
rod, on the Vistula. 

July 31 — Germans capture Mitau, capital 
of Courland. 

August, 1915. Warsaw, Ivangorod, Novo Georgievsk 
and Brest Litovsk passed into Germiin 
hands during August. On the western 
front there was heavy fighting in the Ar- 
gonne and on the Ypres-Arras front. 
The Royal Edward, transport, was tor- 
pedoed in the Aegean. 

August 5-6 — Germans capture Warsaw 
and Ivangorod. 

20 



August 10 — Allies land more troops on 
Gallipoli, and make more gains east of 
Krithia. 

August 14 — British transport Royal Ed- 
ward sunk by submarine with, loss of 
1,000 lives. 

August 19 — ^White Star liner Arabic sunk 
by U boat. Twenty lives lost. 

August 26 — Germans occupy Brest-Li- 
tovsk, Russia. 

The Czar took command of his armies in September, 
the field, recalling the Grand Duke Nicho- 1915. 
las, and sending him to Tiflis on the Cau- 
casian front. The French made their sec- 
ond great offensive in the Champagne, 
taking 23,000 prisoners. Teuton armies 
were reported massing on the Serbian 
frontier. Berlin estimated Russian losses 
since May 1 at 300,000 killed and wounded 
and 1,100,000 prisoners. 

September 8 — Czar takes command of his 
defeated armies. Grand Duke Nicholas 
goes to Caucasus. Germans begin of- 
fensive west of Verdun. 

September 16 — Von Hindenburg drives 
Russians across the Dvina. Von Macken- 
sen occupies Pinsk. 

September 25-30 — Allied offensive opens 
in west. British attack in Flanders and 
region of La Bassee ; French attack in Ar- 
tois and Champagne. In latter region 
they pierce second line of enemy and take 

21 



23,000 prisoners. Offensive ends with 
comparatively small territorial gains. 

September 29 — Teutons reported massing 
for attack on Serbia. Allied troops des- 
tined for Dardanelles are landed at Salo- 
niki. Turks retreat toward Bagdad, in 
Mesopotamia. 

October, At last the Russians checked the German 
1915. advance, but the invasion of Serbia be- 
gan, Bulgaria entering the war as a Teu- 
ton ally. General Sir Ian Hamilton was 
recalled -^r--]-) ihe Dardanelles. Nurse 
Edith Cavv s executed by the Ger- 

mans in Belgium. 

October 1 — Russians check Teuton of- 
fensive along whole front from Baltic to 
Bessarabia. 

October 7 — Army of 400,000 Austro-Ger- 
mans begins invasion of Serbia. 

October 10 — Teutons take Belgrade. 

October 13 — Bulgars enter war, crossing 
Serbian frontier. Nurse Edith CaveU 
shot to death by Germans. King Constan- 
tine, of Greece, refuses to keep treaty with 
Serbia. 

October 15-19 — Great Britain, Prance, 
Russia and Italy declare war on Bulgaria. 

October 19 — Sir Ian Hamilton recalled 
from Dardanelles. 

October 24-29 — Italy in big offensive fails 
to capture Goritz. 



October 28 — Teuton and Bulgar troops ef- 
fect junction in Northeastern Serbia. 
Briand cabinet organized in France. 

The conquest of Serbia was practically November, 
completed before November ended. The 1915. 
British vv-ere defeated in their effort to 
reach Bagdad. The Ancona was sunk by 
a U-boat in the Mediterranean. 

November 7 — Nisli occupied by Bulgars. 
Allies attempt to rush troops up the Var- 
dar valley in Serbia. Ancona sunk. 

November 19 — Bulgars attack Monastir. 

November 21 — Italians advance on Carso 
plateau. 

November 24 — British defeated south of . 
Bagdad, and forced to retreat toward Kut- 
el-Amara. 

The second war Christmas saw much hard December 
fighting. Battle raged inconclusively 1915. 
along the Kussian front. The allies evac- 
uated the Vardar valley, in Serbia, falling 
back on Saloniki. The Italians renewed 
their futile efforts to take Goritz. The 
evacuation of the Gallipoli peninsula be- 
gan. Boy-Ed and Von Papen were re- 
called from Washington. 

December 1-10 — Vigorous but inconclusive 
fighting on Russian front. 

December 3 — Serbs evacuate Monastir. 
Great retreat across Albania in progress. 
Ford peace ship prepares to sail for Eur- 
ope. 

23 



December 5-11 — Italian attacks on Goritz 
front fail. 

December 7 — British reach Kut-el-Amara 
in retreat from Bagdad and entrench. 

December 10 — Boy-Ed and Von Papen, 
German embassy attaches, bid farewell to 
the United States — ''unwept, unhonored 
and unsung.'' 

December 13 — Allies in Serbia fall back 
to Saloniki. 

December 21-29 — French take Hartmann's 
Weilerkopf in Vosges after week of hard 
fighting. 

December 21 — Allies evacuate Suvla Bay 
and Anzac regions on Gallipoli peninsula. 

January, The New Year opened with a series of 
1916. thrills. The Russians began to come back 
in Galicia. The Austrians conquered 
Montenegro. The allies completed the 
evacuation of Gallipoli. The siege of Kut- 
el-Amara began, and the Grand Duke 
Nicholas opened his great offensive in 
the Caucasus. 

January 1 — Russians re-cross the Styr, in 
Galicia. 

January 2-9 — Turks close in on Kut-el- 
Amara, and siege begins. 

January 9 — Teutons retreat across Stripa, 
in Galicia. Allies withdraw successfully 
■^rom Gallipoli peninsula. 

24 



January 10 — General Aylmer begins ex- 
pedition up Tigris to relieve Kut-el- 
Amara. 

January 14 — Austrians capture Cettinje, 
Montenegro. 

January 16 — Russians, under Grand Duke 
Nicholas, begin great offensive in Cau- 
casus. 

January 20 — Russians advance on Czerno- 
witz, in Bukowina. 

January 31 — Russians defeat Turks on 40 
rnile front in Caucasus. 

France will never forget this month, nor February, 
wHl the Crov^n Prince. It witnessed the 1916. 
beginning of the great German offensive 
on the Verdun front. It also saw the cap- 
ture of Erzeroum by the Russians, and the 
completion of the conquest of the Kam- 
erun, in Africa. 

February 9 — Russians cross the Dniester, 
in Galicia. 

February 9-10 — Desperate fighting for 
Vimy ridge on Artois front in France ends 
in deadlock. 

February 15-20 — Heavy fighting in Ypres 
region. British repulsed. 

February 16 — Russians enter Erzeroum, 
capital of Armenia. 

February 18 — German colony of Kamerun 
in Africa surrenders. 

25 



February 21 — Germans open vigorous 
bombardment of Verdun front. 

February 23 — Germans advance two miles 
on 20 mile front north of Verdun. 

February 25 — Italians evacute Durazzo. 
Germans attack Fort Douaumont. 

February 28 — Germans enter Fort Dou- 
aumont, and hold ruins. 

March, 1916. The Battle of Verdun continued to hold 
the center of the stage, the Germans 
steadily gaining ground. The Russians 
suffered reverses on the northern end of 
their line. The whole world was shocked 
by the sinking of the Sussex, and the 
United States and Germany were brought 
closer to a severance of relations than at 
any time since the sinking of the Lusi- 
tania. 

March 3 — Germans occupy village of Dou- 
aumont on Verdun front. Russ capture 
Bitlis in southern Armenia. 

March 6 — Germans capture Forges, on 
west bank of Meuse. 

March 11 — Germans enter village of Vaux, 
southwest of Douaumont. 

March 16 — Long struggle for possession 
of Dead Man's Hill, west of Verdun, be- 
gins. 

March 18 — Russians advance west of Erze- 
roum. 

26 



Maech 25 — Channel packet Sussex is sunk 
off French coast with loss of life. U-boat 
attack was made without warning, violat- 
ing German pledge. 

Maech 27 — British smash German salient 
at St. Eloi, Flanders. 

March 30 — Germans gain foothold on 
Dead Man's Hill. 

This was a dark month for England, es- April, 1916. 
pecially in its last week. It brought the 
surrender of Kut-el-Amara, the Irish re- 
bellion and — least of its worries — a Ger- 
man raid on Lowestoft. It witnessed fur- 
ther gains for the Germans on the Verdun 
front; the landing of Russian troops at 
Marseilles, and the capture of Trebizond 
by the Russians. 

April. 6 — British in Mesopotamia capture 
Felahie on Tigris. 

April 9 — French abandon Bethincourt, 
salient west of Meuse. British defeated 
in effort to take Sannayat position on 
Tigris. Hope for relief of Kut-el-Amara 
gone. 

April 17 — Germans advance on east bank 
of Meuse. 

April 18 — Russians occupy Trebizond. 
President Wilson sends Germany note on 
Sussex case threatening to break off dip- 
lomatic relations if act is repeated. 

April 19 — President addresses Congress 
on submarine warfare. 

27 



April 20-25 — On each of these days de- 
tachments of Russian troops were landed 
at Marseilles, making their first appear- 
ance on the western front. 

April 21 — Sir Roger Casement captured 
on west coast of Ireland. 

April 25 — Germans bombard Lowestoft, 
on English east coast, killing four people. 
They are driven off after twenty minutes 
firing. 

April 25 — Rebellion breaks out in Dublin. 
Rebels capture Postoffice and St. Stephen's 
Green. 

April 28 — Irish rebellion collapses. 

April 29 — General Townsend at Kut-el- 
Amara surrenders to the Turks, with 81,- 
970 men, 514 officers. 

April 30 — All Sinn Fein rebels in Dublin 
surrender. 

May, 1916. The two most notable events in this month 
were the opening of the Austrian offensive 
against Italy, and the battle of Jutland, in 
which the British drove the German high- 
seas fleet back to its shelter. The British 
parliament passed the compulsory military 
service law, and Germany named a food 
dictator. 

May 1 — French repulse Germans at Dead 
Man's Hill. 

May 1-14 — Russians advance in Armenia, 

28 



May 8 — Germany replies to Sussex note 
with new promises of good behavior which 
Washington accepts. 

May 9 — Germans repulsed in attacks on 
Hill 304 west of Verdun. 

May 13 — Germany appoints a food dic- 
tator. 

May 16 — British take trenches on Vimy 
Ridge. Great Austrian offensive begins 
in the Trentino. 

May 22-24 — French and Germans in bit- 
ter fight for Douaumont. Germans retain 
possession after temporary ejection. 

May 24 — United States protests to Great 
Britain and France on interference with 
American mails. 

May 25 — British parliament passes com- 
pulsory military service law, from opera- 
tion of which Ireland is excluded. 

May 31 — British battle cruiser squadron, 
under Sir David Beatty, attacks German 
high seas fleet off coast of Jutland, and, 
although suffering heavy losses, succeeds in 
driving enemy back to shelter. 

The return of the Russians was the sig- June, 1916. 
nificant incident of this month. General 
Brussiloff began his great offensive in Vol- 
hynia, Galicia and Bukowina, capturing 
hundreds of thousands of Austrians. It 
ended the Austrian offensive in Italy. The 
battle of Verdun reached its crisis for 
France Avith the capture of Fleury on the 

29 



east of the Meuse. The preliminary bom- 
bardment of the German front in the 
Somme and Artois sectors brought the 
month to a close. 

June 1-3 — German advance between Dou- 
aumont and Vaux. 

June 5 — Russians begin great offensive 
from Pripet marshes to Bukowina border. 
Italians check Austrian advance and begin 
counter offensive that is maintained 
throughout month, driving enemy back 
along v^hole front. 

June 7 — Germans take Fort Yaux, north- 
east of Verdun. Earl Kitchener and staff 
drowned en route to Russia by sinking of 
Hampshire off north coast of Scotland. 

June 7-11 — Russians capture Lutsk and 
Dubno, and take 75,000 prisoners. 

June 13 — Germans gain ground at Thiau- 
mont, north of Verdun. Canadians cap- 
ture trenches at Zillebeke, Flanders. 

June 18 — Russians capture Czemowitz, 
capital of Bukowina. 

June 24 — Germans enter Fleury, within 
inner circle of Verdun defenses. 

June 26-30 — ^Allies begin violent bombard- 
ment of German front in Somme and Ar- 
tois sectors. 

June 30 — Russians capture Kolomea, Gali- 
cia. 

30 



For the allies on the western front this July, 1916. 
was the most memorable month since the 
battle of the Marne. It saw the beginning 
of what it was hoped would prove to be 
the "Big Push," now known as the battle 
of the Somme. The Russian drive con- 
tinued in Volhynia and Galicia. The Serbs 
opened the Macedonian offensive by at- 
tacking the Bulgars in Greece. 

July 1 — French and British advance on 
seven mile front north and south of 
Somme river, smashing the first line 
trenches of the enemy. 

July 2 — British take Curlu and Frise, on 
Somme. 

July 3-11 — Russians advance in Galicia 
and Volhynia. Von Bothmer falls back 
on Stripa river. 

July 9 — French take Biaches, near Pe- 
ronne; British take Contalmaison. 

July 10 — Skouloudis cabinet resigns in 
Greece. Allies are granted large con- 
cessions. 

July 14 — British capture German second 
line between Bazentin-le-Petit and Long- 
ueval, north of Somme. 

July 20 — French advance on wide front 
south of Somme. 

July 26-27 — British take Pozieres and Del- 
ville wood. 

July 29 — Russians cross Stokhod river in 
Volhynia. Serbs attack Bulgars in Greece, 

31 



driving them back. Russians occupy 
Erzingan in Armenia. 

August, The beginning of the second year of war 
1916. brought another nation to the firing line. 
Before the month's close Roumania de- 
clared war, taking her place with the en- 
tente allies. Italy ended her anomalous 
relations with Germany by declaring war 
on the Kaiser's realm, and began her Isonzo 
offensive, capturing Goritz. The Russians 
continued their advance in Galicia. The 
Anglo-French armies made further prog- 
ress on the Somme. 

August 2 — French advance east of Meuse 
to outskirts of Fleury. 

August 4 — French retake Fleury. (Sub- 
sequently it changed hands several times, 
but this was the beginning of what later 
developed into a notable French victory 
at Verdun.) 

August 8-11 — Allies advance north of 
Somme, closing in on Guillemont; Rus- 
sians advance in Galicia, crossing Sereth 
river and capturing Stanislau. 

August 9 — Italians after three days' bat- 
tle capture Goritz, on the Isonzo, occupy 
the whole Doberdo plateau, and advance 
on Carso plateau. Russians evacuate Bit- 
lis and Mush in Armenia. 

August 11 — Allies take Doiran station, 
east of Vardar valley. 

August 13 — Russians bombard Halicz. 
Italians gain on Carso plateau. French 



capture German third line trenches north 
of Somme. 

August 15 — Austrians check Italian ad- 
vance. 

August 18 — French occupy Maurepas. 
August 21 — Russians land at Saloniki. 

August 24 — Russians retake Bitlis and 
Mush. 

August 27 — Roumania enters the war. 
Italy declares war on Germany. 

The earlier half of this month was marked September, 
by the unimpeded progress of the Rou- 1916. 
manian invasion of Transylvania, and the 
beginning of Von Mackensen's hard drive 
into Dobrudja. At the same time the al- 
lies made big gains on the Somme front, 
reaching Combles later in the month, when 
the Roumanians were beginning to feel 
the pressure of Von Falkenha^Ti 's counter 
offensive. The Serbs, fighting in Mace- 
donia, reached their own soil again. 

September 2 — Roumanians occupy Orsova. 

September 3 — Mackensen begins his drive 
into the Dobrudja. The allies on the 
Somme capture Guillemont, Forest and 
Clery. 

September 7 — Mackensen captures Tur- 
tukai, on the Danube; French cut Roye- 
Peronne railroad, south of the Somme. 

September 11 — British cross the Struma in 
Macedonia. 

33 



September 12-26 — Allies in great offensive 
on the Somme smash German lines, cap- 
turing twelve towns and villages, includ- 
ing Combles, Thiepval and Guedecourt. 

September 17-19 — Austro-Germans defeat 
Russians near Halicz, 

September 20 — Von Falkenhayn begins 
his counter offensive in Transylvania. 
Serbs take summit of Kaimacalan ridge 
and are back on their own soil. 

September 21 — Russo-Roumanians check 
Von Mackensen in Dobrudja. 

September 28-30 — Teutons defeat Rou- 
manians in 3 day fight at Hermanstadt, 
Transylvania. 

October, The world was thrilled by the French vic- 
1916. tory north of Verdun in which Fort Dou- 
aumont was regained and a wide area that 
it had taken the Germans months of des- 
perate effort to conquer. On the Somme 
front the allies made further progress. In 
Roumania the Teuton offensive gradually 
overcame the stubborn opposition of the 
defenders, and the enemy reached Rou- 
manian soil at several points. The Rus- 
sians met varying fortunes in Galicia, and 
extended their efforts to southern Buk- 
owina. In the Dobrudja the forces of 
Mackensen advanced, capturing Con- 
stantza and Chernavoda. The Russians 
resumed their campaign west of Trebi- 
zond, in Armenia. On the Macedonian 
front the army of General Sarrail gained 
important advantages. 

34 



October 1 — British break Bulgar line on 
Struma river, in Macedonia, capturing 
two villages. 

October 7 — British advance north of 
Somme on ten mile front; French gain 
ground northeast of Morval. Russians 
take Petra Kala, 45 miles west of Trebi- 
zond on Black Sea coast. 

October 8 — Teutons recapture Kronstadt 
in Transylvania, force retreat of Rou- 
manians. 

October 9 — Serbs cross Cerna river, south- 
east of Monastir. 

October 11 — Teutons penetrate into Rou- 
mania, repulse defenders in Alt valley. 

October 18 — Serbs take the village of 
Brod, southeast of Monastir. 

October 23-25 — Mackensen captures Con- 
stantza and the Chernavoda bridge across 
the Danube, in the Dobrudja. Defenders 
retreat into northern Dobrudja. 

October 24 — French break German line 
north of Verdun on four mile front, ad- 
vancing two miles and recapturing Fort 
Douaumont, Douaumont village and Cail- 
lette Wood. Reach edge of Vaux. 

October 25 — Teutons capture Vulcan pass, 
on Transylvania front. 

October 27 — German destroyers make raid 
on English channel, sink six drift-net 
boats, the torpedo-boat destroyer, Flirt, 
and the empty transport. Queen. 

35 



November, The month brought three brilliant allied 
1916. successes. Northwest of Verdun the 
French recaptured Vaux; on the Somme 
the British smashed forward north of the 
Ancre river, capturing Beaumont-Hamel, 
St. Pierre Divion, and Beaucourt ; on the 
Macedonian front the allied forces occu- 
pied Monastir, and drove on beyond it 
to the north. But November also wit- 
nessed the development of the Teuton of- 
fensive against Roumania, and the inva- 
sion of Wallachia. 

November 2 — Germans evacuate the last 
of the forts at Verdun, abandoning Port 
Vaux. 

November 4 — Italians gain ground on 
Carso plateau and take 9,000 prisonera 

November, 5 — Teutons smash Roumanian 
front south of Kronstadt. 

November 8 — Russians coming to aid of 
Roumanians invade Transylvania for dis- 
tance of five miles from Bukowina fron- 
tier. 

November 11 — Serbians in Cerna river 
bend advance and capture Polog. 

November 13-14 — British advance north of 
Ancre in Somme district, taking St. Pierre 
Divion, Beaumont-Hamel and Beaucourt. 
Over 6,000 prisoners captured. 

November 14 — Von Falkenhayn closes in 
on Kimpolung and takes Bumbeshti in the 
Alt valley, Roumania. 

36 



November 18 — British advance along An- 
cre to outskirts of Grandcourt. 

November 18 — Franco-Serb forces take 
Monastir. Admiral Fournet presents 
Greek king with allied demand for sur- 
render of guns and munitions. 

November 21 — Teutons capture Craiova, 
important railroad town in Wallachia. 

November 24 — Mackensen's forces cross 
the Danube southwest of Bucharest. 

November 27 — Franco-Serbian troops cap- 
ture Hill 1050 northeast of Monastir. 

November 28 — Roumanians fall back to 
the Arjish river, and capture of Buchar- 
est is threatened. 

This month will live in history as the December, 
month of peace proposals. The central \qiq 
powers made their offer to enter negotia- 
tions, and President Wilson sent his fa- 
mous note to the belligerents calling for an 
open statement of terms. It also brought 
the fall of Bucharest; the resignation of 
Asquith ; the appointment of Lloyd-George 
as premier of Great Britain and the forma- 
tion of a new cabinet. Tlie French made 
another big advance on the Verdun front. 

December 1 — Roumanians abandon the Ar- 
jish river. New crisis in Greece. Greek 
royalists and allied troops clash in streets 
of Athens. 

December 3 — Serious cabinet crisis in Eng- 
land. 

37 



December 5 — Asquith, Balfour, Grey and 
Lansdowne resign from British, cabinet. 
Bonar Law declines to become premier. 
Lloyd-George, summoned by the king, 
accepts. 

December 6 — Teutons occupy Bucharest. 
Russo-Roumanian forces in retreat toward 
Moldavia. 

December 7 — Vote of confidence given 
French government. 

December 11 — New British cabinet an- 
nounced, with war council of five members 
— Lloyd-George, Bonar Law, Arthur Hen- 
derson, Lord Curzon and Lord Milner. Bal- 
four becomes Foreign Minister; Curzon 
First Lord of the Admiralty. 

December 12 — Central empires propose to 
enter peace negotiations. 

December 14 — Great Britain provides for 
1,000,000 more men. Votes $2,000,000,000 
war credit. Briand warns France ''Be- 
ware!" Greek ports blockaded. General 
Nivelle succeeds General Joffre in command 
of the western front. 

December 15 — French advance north of 
Verdun, take 11,000 prisoners and gain 2 
miles on 7 mile front. British advance on 
Tigris. Russian Duma rejects peace pro- 
posal. 

December 18 — President Wilson sends 
identical note to belligerents requesting 
statement of peace terms on ground that 
United States' safety is involved. 

3S 



December 19 — Lloyd-George makes first 
speech as premier in House of Commons. 
Declares entente terms are ''Reparation, 
Restoration and Security." No peace ne- 
gotiations until enemy tenns are made pub- 
lic. 

December 21 — Wilson note made public. 
Lansing explains and withdraws explana- 
tion. Allied countries display indignation. 
Berlin is pleased. 

December 24 — Teutons attack Danube 
river crossing at Machin, in northwestern 
Dobrudja. 

December 25, 26 — British defeat Turks on 
Tigris, taking 1,350 prisoners, and advanc- 
ing to within three miles of Kut-el-Amara. 

December 26 — Germany answers Wilson's 
peace note by proposing immediate con- 
ference of delegates from belligerent na- 
tions at some neutral place. 

December 28 — Teutons in Roumania open 
fire on Braila, near junction of Sereth and 
Danube rivers. 

December 29 — British reported to have 
taken over an additional section of the 
French front on the Somme, thus reliev- 
ing considerable force of French troops for 
rest or service elsewhere. German attack 
west of Verdun penetrates French positions 
south of Dead Man's hill. 

December 30 — Allied answer to Berlin 
peace proposal is made public. It emphati- 
cally rejects the proposal, charging Ger- 

39 



many with responsibility for the war and 
reminding the world that she considers 
treaties ''scraps of paper" and approves 
the principle that "necessity knows no 
law." 

December 31 — ^Year ends with Teutons 
gaining in Roumania and desultory fight- 
ing on other fronts. Berlin abandons hope 
of peace. Entente allies prepare to resume 
struggle with redoubled energy. 



40 



THE GREAT CAMPAIGNS 



August 4-22, 1914— That Germany had The 
planned to make war on France through Conquest of 
Belgium is evident from the fact that she Belgium, 
had built strategic railroads to the Belgian 
frontier, between Longwy, the northern- 
most of French fortifications, and Liege, 
the fajnous Belgian fortress. 

The invasion of Belgium began with a 
storming attack on Liege on August 4, 
1916. Luexembourg had been occupied on 
August 2 by an advance guard. The Ger- 
man plan was to seize Liege, as the gate- 
way to Belgium, and rush the Teuton 
armies across King Albert's country and 
into France before effective resistance 
could be offered. The whole success of 
the German effort was based on a quick 
passage through Belgium — a passage so 
quick as to anticipate French mobilization 
and the arrival of British troops. 

The surprising courage and tenacity of 
the Belgians in defending Liege upset the 
plan, and made possible the subsequent 
battle of the Marne by giving the French 
time for preparation and the British op- 
portunity to land their first expeditionary 
force. 

For three days the efforts to storm Liege 
w^ere defeated, and the slaughter of the 
Germans attacking in massed formation 
staggered the world, now getting its first 

41 



introduction to modern warfare. On 
August 7 the Germans penetrated between 
the forts and entered the city. Several 
of the forts held out in spite of this vic- 
tory, and had to be demolished by the 
great forty-two centimeter guns before 
they surrendered. 

The delay occasioned by Belgian resist- 
ance was not used to full advantage by 
the French, who thrust their forces into 
Alsace, instead of at once hastening to 
strengthen the line of the Meuse south 
of Liege at Huy and Namur. But it 
forced Germany to hasten re-enforcements 
to her armies in Belgium and Luxembourg, 
fearing the appearance of the French and 
British. 

Between August 7 and August 16, Ger- 
man cavalry, acting as a screen for the main 
army, pushed forward across northeastern 
Belgium. It met stubborn resistance, but 
its advance was inexorable. Tongres, St. 
Trond, Hasselt, Haelen, Diest, Tirlemont, 
Aerschot, mark its progress toward Brus- 
sels. By August 16 the peril to Brussels 
became evident. The main German army 
was already moving forward behind its 
cavalry screen. Huy had fallen; Louvain 
was threatened, and Namur was expecting 
siege. On August 18 it was announced 
that the British expeditionary force had 
landed, numbering some 120,000 men, and 
Avas on its way to Belgium. On August 
19 the Germans occupied Louvain, and 
the next day marched, unopposed, into 

42 



Brussels, the Belgian army retiring to- 
ward Antwerp. 

Namur fell on August 22, its capitulation 
coming with surprising quickness. From 
that moment Belgium was virtually con- 
quered, although the occupation of the 
west coast and the capture of Antwerp 
had to be postponed until after the bat- 
tle of the Marne. 

The Germans had now two roads open 
through which to invade France, one be- 
tween Maubeuge and Lille, the other be- 
tween Maubeuge and Namur. Along these 
roads the British 'army under General 
French, and the French army under Gen- 
eral Joffre, had occupied positions challeng- 
ing the German advance. 

August 21 to October 15, 1914 — ^When PromMons 
Namur fell the Anglo-French forces oc- to the Marne 
cupied positions between Namur and and Back 
Lille, with their centers at Mons and Again 
Charleroi. The right flank rested on the 
Meuse between Dinant and Givet. A 
French army that had met defeat in the 
Belgian Ardennes, filled the gap from the 
Meuse to the Verdun-Toul line of fortifi- 
cations. A third army was trying to hold 
the Germans near Nancy, after having met 
a terrible reverse in Lorraine. 

The French were beaten at Charleroi on 
the day following the fall of Namur, and 
the British at Mons were compelled to re- 
tire with them. Meantime the Germans 
struck the French right flank at Givet and 

43 



Dinant, driving it back. Thus the whole 
Anglo-French army was in peril of encir- 
clement and destruction. 

The Germans entered Lille unopposed, 
and as the British fell back their flank was 
uncovered on the left. Against this the en- 
emy hurled five army corps — more than 
200,000 men. For six days, from August 
22 to August 28, the fate of the allies hung 
in the balance. The Germans had another 
chance to win a Sedan. The crisis was 
reached on August 26, when the British 
met the full force of the German assault — 
five army corps against two. They were 
standing on the line of Cambrai-LeCateau- 
Landrecies, and preparing to retire. The 
blow fell; it was met with supreme cour- 
age. The enemy was repulsed. General 
French succeeded in disengaging himself, 
and retreated in good order on St. 
Quentin. 

The failure of his ally to send him the aid 
he asked nearly resulted in a disaster 
that would have brought France to its 
knees. Had the British failed there would 
have been no saving Paris ; the whole 
Anglo-French army would have been out- 
flanked and rolled up. 

Help came later, and at St. Quentin he 
was well supported. Here he felt the sec- 
ond heavy blow^ since Mons, but again the 
enemy was repulsed. 

By September 1 the allies had fallen 
back to within sixty miles of Paris, and the 
second line of French defenses had been 

44 



taken by the Germans. The line, as it re- 
treated, was pivoting on Verdun. Along the 
Verdun-Toul fortifications the enemy was 
held up, while at Nancy the French army, 
that had been driven ignominiously from 
Lorraine, was retrieving its reputation by 
a magnificent defensive. 

By September 3 the left wing of the 
Anglo-French army was under the guns 
of the Paris forts. The German encircling 
movement had failed. Buttressed between 
Paris and the Verdun-Toul fortifications, 
and bending in crescent form south of the 
Marne, the allies decided to make a stand. 
General Joffre's supreme moment had ar- 
rived. He had yielded all of northern 
France to find this opportunity. 

Instead of attempting to storm Paris, the 
Germans decided to attack the allied army 
at its center, on the Marne, and so try to 
divide it in two sections, one of which 
could be rolled back on Paris, and the 
other rolled back on the eastern fortress 
barrier. General Von Kluck, who had pur- 
sued the British south, and who had 
ranged to the Avest in his effort to get 
around their flank, was compelled to draw 
in and cross in front of Paris. As he did 
this Joffre struck at his flank with 
a hidden reserve force. At the same time 
General Foch struck back at Von Buelow on 
the center. Von Kluck narrowly escaped 
capture, and by September 10 was re- 
treating toward the Aisne with all pos- 
sible speed. The rest of the German army 
had to join him. 

45 



Keaching the second line of French de- 
fense, north of the Aisne, the Germans 
halted and entrenched. The Allies failed 
to dislodge them. By September 18 their 
attacks ceased, and the final stage began 
— the gradual extending of the lines north- 
ward through the Somme and Artois re- 
gions to the southwest corner of Belgium, 
and eventually, the North Sea. On Octo- 
ber 14, the British occupied Ypres; on 
October 15, the Germans occupied Ostend, 
and the Belgians, who had escaped from 
the battles before Antwerp and the siege 
that followed, took their place in the 
allied line along the Yser. 

So ended the first great campaign in 
France, and the long trench siege began 
from Nieuport to the mountains of Swit- 
zerland. 



Serbia's August 1 to December 14, 1914 — When 
Victorious ^^® ^^^^ story of the war is written there 
Defense. ^^^^ ^^ ^^ more brilliant chapter in it than 
that which tells of how Serbia, in its early 
months, routed the Austrian forces and 
drove them from her soil. With the Bel- 
gians, the Serbs have earned title to be con- 
sidered among the bravest of peoples. 

Belgrade was under bombardment by 
August 1, and in the third week in August 
an Austrian army that had crossed the 
Drina was routed at the Jedar, and driven 
back to its own territory. Then the tables 
were turned. Serbians and Montenegrins 
swarmed into Bosnia, and approached 
Serajevo. This continued through Sep- 

46 



tember. With the coming of October, the 
Austrians regained the initiative. Their 
army had been re-enforced. They had 
some German aid. Crossing the Drina 
again they moved forward until they had 
reached the Oriental railroad, running 
from Belgrade to Constantinople, through 
Nish and Sofia. Belgrade was caught on 
flank and rear, and the garrison had to 
evacuate it and retreat. 

The Austrians reached Valievo. They 
were on the high road to conquest. Then 
happened one of the most dramatic events 
in the whole war — an event never to be for- 
gotten. On December 9, 1914, with the 
shattered forces of the Serbians giving 
way before the enemy, there rode upon 
the field the erect and venerable figure of 
King Peter. The white haired monarch 
rallied his discouraged troops, and lead- 
ing them in person, swept forward against 
the enemy. The astonished Austrians 
were beaten, routed, driven back from 
Valievo, from Belgrade — back across 
Drina and Save and Danube, until the soil 
of Serbia was free from the foot of her 
foe. It was a scene belonging to the war- 
fare of centuries gone — a scene we are 
not likely to see repeated in the history 
of the world. 

Serbia remained free until the Great 
]\rackensen drive began in October, 1915. 

August, 1914, to May, 1915 — The first Russia's 
Russian invasion of Galicia began be- Campaigns 
fore the end of August, 1914, while the in Galicia. 

47 



Germans were sweeping through Bel- 
gium and France. It was marked by un- 
interrupted success, the Austrian armies 
breaking in disorder before the teriffic 
onslaught of the Czar's troops. By Sep- 
tember 1, Lemberg was reached and oc- 
cupied after a great battle in which thou- 
sands of Austrians were taken prisoner. 

The Austrian demoralization was so great 
that Berlin became alarmed. Russia was 
already in East Prussia, and her victor- 
ious march through Galicia threatened 
an invasion of Germany from the di- 
rection of Cracow. Hence, at the very 
hour when the battle of the Marne was 
beginning, Germany was forced to hasten 
troops from the western front to check the 
Slav. Doubtless this fact contributed to 
the allied victory in France. 

But the Russians were not stopped at 
Lemberg, or at the San, seventy miles fur- 
ther west. On September 7 they routed 
the Austrians again at Ravaruska ; on Sep- 
tember 16 they invested Przemysl, and 
moved on to the capture of Jaroslav a 
week later. With Jaroslav occupied and 
Przemysl surrounded, they advanced to 
the Donajec and by the end of September 
their vanguard was within range of 
Cracow. Here for several weeks they held 
their positions, while they spread out 
along the Carpathians, penetrated the 
passes into Hungary, and actually raided 
the Hungarian plains. Thus two months 
after the beginning of the war the Rus- 
sians had conquered Galicia. 

48 



Early in October the Austrians, aided by 
the Germans, began a series of counter 
attacks. They retook the Uzsok pass, and 
on October 12 compelled the Russians to 
abandon the investment of Przemysl. 
Jaroslav was recaptured, and the Eussians 
retired beyond the San. 

A great battle developed along the San 
about October 18. It lasted for days in 
which fortunes varied, but the Russians 
gradually obtained the upper hand. Mean- 
time the Austrians attempted an attack on 
the Russian flank and rear from Buko- 
wina. They invaded southeastern Galicia, 
and reached Nadworna before they were 
checked. Then came a crushing defeat 
for them on the San, and once again the 
Russians captured Jaroslav, re-entering 
the city on November 6. Six days later 
the siege of Przemysl was renewed, to last 
this time until its capture in the following 
March. By November 16 the Russians 
had reached the outskirts of Cracow 
again. 

Once more Hungary was raided, while 
to the east, the Russians drove back into 
Bukowina and re occupied Czernowitz. 

The middle of December brought rever- 
sals, however. German aid was sent to 
the Austrians, and the siege of Cracow 
was abandoned. The Russians retired 
to the Donajec, where they established a 
strong line across Galicia, protecting the 
rear of their forces in the Carpathians. 
A long series of operations then began in 

49 



the mountains — battles in deep snows and 
zero temperatures — in which the Eussians 
gradually forced their way into the 
passes. On March 22 they captured 
Przemysl, and under the impulse of this 
success swept forward on what promised 
to be a serious invasion of Hungary with 
Buda Pest as its goal. 

The alarmed Austrians rallied again and 
again to defend their frontier, fighting 
stubbornly for every yard of ground, and 
then, with the coming of May appeared 
Mackensen on the Donajec. The story of 
how he saved Hungary, reconquered Gali- 
cia, and swept on behind the Vistula to 
Pinsk is told in the next chapter. 

German October, November, 1914 ; May to Septem- 

Campaigns ^^r, 1915 — The German offensive against 

for Russia is marked by three great efforts to 

Warsaw, conquer Poland, seize the Vistula defenses 

and crush the armies of the Czar. 

The first of these began in the opening 
days of October, 1914, with Von Hinden- 
burg in command, fresh from his victory 
over the Russians at Tannenberg, in East 
Prussia. The German armies, admirably 
equipped, swept across Poland to the Vis- 
tula. They reached the outskirts of War- 
saw and Ivangorod by October 17. Avia- 
tors dropped proclamations in Warsaw 
calling for the surrender of the city. The 
big guns began to shell its fortifications. 
Then re-enforcements suddenly attacked 
the left flank of the Teutons, driving it 
back and compelling a retreat all along 

60 



the line. In perfect order Von Hinden- 
burg's armies withdrew, moving too 
swiftly for the pursuing Russians, who 
followed to the German frontier and 
actually crossed into Posen at one point. 

This Russian success was brief. Von Hin- 
denburg struck again. Early in Novem- 
ber he began a movement against both 
flanks of the Russian army. One came 
down the south bank of the Vistula from 
the East Prussian fortress of Thorn; the 
other advanced northeast from Czensto- 
chowa, whither it had retired after its 
failure at Ivangorod. The Russians were 
in serious peril of being outflanked and 
cut off from Warsaw and the Vistula. 
They fell back toward Lodz. Here, at the 
moment that threatened their destruction, 
re-enforcements from Warsaw suddenly 
attacked the flank and rear of Von Hin- 
denburg's encircling movement, and the 
battle of Lodz began. The tables were 
turned. The Germans were in peril of 
extinction. An entire army corps sur- 
rendered. But aid was rushed to them 
and they cut their way out of the Slav 
net. The Russians fell back from Lodz, 
and ultimately took up positions along the 
Bzura river, twenty miles west of Warsaw. 
Thus began a long trench siege paralleling 
the Vistula from west of Warsaw to the 
Galician boundary. 

For months there was bitter fighting 
along the entrenched front in Poland, and 
campaign and counter campaign in the Bal- 
tic provinces and East Prussia. The Rus- 

61 



sians met disaster at the Mazurian lakes, 
but carried out a sweeping offensive in Ga- 
licia and the Carpathians, And it was this 
success, threatening the invasion of Hun- 
gary, that brought upon them the third 
and greatest German drive. 

Now General Von Mackensen came upon 
the stage as the deliverer of the shattered 
Austrians. The Eussians held a long front 
in the Carpathians from Bukowina to the 
Donajec river. They faced the plains of 
Hungary to the south, and had actually 
invaded them for a score or more of miles. 
They had captured Przemysl, in Galicia, 
and occupied the country as far west as 
the Donajec, where their line turned north 
from the mountains, and extended up into 
Poland. This line protected the rear of 
their mountain positions, and it was 
against this line Mackensen struck on May 
3 with such a massing of artillery as had 
not been seen before. 

He shattered it, capturing 30,000 prison- 
ers. There followed battle after battle, 
the Russians resisting stubbornly, but 
gradually giving ground. They were 
driven across the San by May 12 ; by May 
29, they were defending Przemysl. On 
June 2 Przemysl fell, and the Russians re- 
tired on Lemberg. They lost Lemberg on 
June 22, and a week later Mackensen be- 
gan his drive north behind the Vistula. 
Meantime Von Hindenburg was pressing 
the battle hard in Poland. By the middle 
of July a tremendous struggle was in 
progress on a 900-mile front, with Warsaw 

52 



and Ivangorod as the prizes. They fell 
on August 5 and 6. By the end of August 
the Germans had reached Brest Litovsk, 
and captured it. On September 8 the Czar 
took command of his defeated armies, re- 
calling the weary and sick Grand Duke 
Nicholas. On September 16 Von Hinden- 
burg drove the Eussians across the Dvina, 
and Mackensen occupied Pinsk. 

There the German advance halted. To 
this day it has been unable to go farther. 
South of Pinsk it has lost ground. The 
drive succeeded in winning territory and 
fortresses. It failed utterly in its main 
object — the crushing of the Eussian 
armies. 

October 7, 1915, to December 19, 1915 — The 
No sooner was the German advance halted Campaign 
in Eussia than a new menace developed Against 
for the allies. Late in September rumors Serbia. 
were heard that a Teuton army was mass- 
ing in Austria for a great drive on Serbia. 
The conquest of the Balkans was an essen- 
tial feature of German ambitions. That 
way, lay the road to Constantinople and 
Asia Minor — a place in the sun. 

On October 7, 1915, the central powers 
hurled 400,000 men against the Serbian 
frontier. Passage was forced across the 
Save, the Drina and the Danube. Macken- 
sen was in command. The Serbs fought 
bravely as they had before, but, masters 
as they had proved for the Austrians, they 
were not equal to the combined power of 
Austria and Germany. Moreover, by the 

53 



middle of the month they were treacher- 
ously struck on the flank by Bulgaria, 
who entered the war as a Teuton ally. 
King Constantine of Greece made a scrap 
of paper of his treaty pledging aid to 
Serbia, and, although the allies landed 
forces at Saloniki, they were unable to 
advance with sufficient strength and ra- 
pidity to afford the Serbians aid. 

Belgrade fell on October 10. By October 
28 the Bulgars and Teutons had effected 
a junction in northeastern Serbia. Nish 
was captured on November 7, and the 
Bulgars sweeping west reached Monastir 
by November 19. A month later the 
Anglo-French forces, that had attempted 
to push up the Yardar valley, fell back to 
Saloniki. The conquest of Serbia was 
complete. 

But a large part of the Serbian army had 
escaped in one of the most terrible re- 
treats of history, across the snowy moun- 
tains of Albania. That army, reorganized, 
is now back on Serbian soil, fighting with 
a magnificent courage for the redemption 
of its fatherland. Monastir, that fell into 
the hands of the Bulgars in November, 
1915, was once again in possession of the 
Serbs in November, 1916. 

The February 19, 1915, to January 9, 1916— 

Gallipoli The Gallipoli campaign, in its inception, 

Campaign, began long before the Teuton assault on 

Serbia. It was Winston Churchill, then 

first lord of the admiralty, who conceived 

the idea of using the navy to force the 

54 



Dardanelles and capture Constantinople. 
The effort to execute the idea dates from 
February 19, 1915, when an Anglo-French 
fleet began the bombardment of the Turk- 
ish forts at the entrance to the straits. In 
a week they had silenced them, and were 
opening fire on the first of the inner forts. 
Then came disaster. The Bouvet, Ocean 
and Irresistible were sunk by mines in the 
middle of March. The efforts to force a 
passage through the straits in the face of 
fire from the forts at the Narrows and the 
peril of mines and submarines threatened 
to exact a terrible toll. 

It was decided to land troops on the Gal- 
lipoli peninsula in order to aid in reducing 
the forts. On April 21, 1915, landings 
were made at various points. By the end 
of the month the allied forces had estab- 
lished themselves in positions across the 
tip of the peninsula, and on the coast of 
the Gulf of Saros, in the region that was 
later named Anzac. This name is com- 
posed of the initial letters of the Austral- 
ian-New Zealand Army Corps that consti- 
tuted a factor of great strength and un- 
daunted courage in the Gallipoli cam- 
paign. 

Terrific fighting followed, week after 
week and month after month, but the re- 
sistance of the Turks was stubborn, and 
the progress of the allies slow and costly. 
The Turks held strongly entrenched and 
fortified hill positions ; they were well offi- 
cered and, in the earlier stages of the cam- 

55 



paign, possessed an abundance of guns 
and amunition. 

During June and July the allies repeated- 
ly assumed the offensive and gained 
ground, both on the tip of the peninsula, 
and in the Anzac region. The Anglo- 
French troops drove the Turks back to- 
ward Krithia and the powerful mountain 
fortress of Achi Baba. In the Anzac zone 
the Australian and New Zealand troops 
fought with a bravery that will never be 
forgotten and suffered terrific losses. On 
August 2 they captured an important 
ridge, and later this was followed up by an- 
other splendid advance in which the 
territory hitherto held was trebled. The 
most desperate fighting of the whole cam- 
paign occurred during these four or five 
days, in which the Ghurkas distinguished 
themselves no less than the Anzacs. The 
work was done in trenches, dugouts and 
subterranean passages, but it was wrought 
in vain. It failed to take its main objec- 
tive, the crest of Sari Bair, and it had to 
give ground in the end before the counter 
attacks of the Turks. 

At the same time the Turks drove back 
the Anglo-French line on the peninsula tip. 
The outlook for success on Gallipoli was 
gloomy. The allies were depressed by the 
tremendous price the venture was costing 
them. Nevertheless in September re-en- 
forcements were sent to the weary and 
decimated troops. They had small effect 
on the situation. In October, Sir Ian 
Hamilton was recalled, and Major-General 

56 



Miinro sent to take his place. Hamilton's 
recall was understood to be due to the 
failure of the August offensive. Little 
was done to retrieve the situation, and on 
December 21 it was announced that the 
British had withdrawn from the Anzac 
and Suvla Bay front. Complete with- 
drawal of all the allied forces followed 
on January 9, 1916. The Gallipoli cam- 
paign was at an end. 

Facts that have since come to light sus- 
tain the belief that victory was within 
reach early in August, and that the chance 
was thrown away by the failure of Sir Ian 
Hamilton to insist on a night attack by 
the troops of the Eleventh Division under 
Major-General Hammersley, at the critical 
moment when the Turks were suffering 
from earlier defeat and had not been able 
to bring up re-enforcements. Hamilton 
accepted Hammersley 's statement that he 
could not get out orders for a night at- 
tack, owing to his men being scattered. 
When morning came the Turks were re- 
enforced, and the opportunity was gone. 

November^ 1914, to April 29, 1916— In The 
November, 1915, ]\Ir Asquith, addressing Campaign 
the House of Commons, described the inMeso- 
progress of operations in Mesopotamia, potajnia. 
They had been begun by the taking of 
Basra, on the Persian Gulf, in November, 
1914. The object of this effort so far from 
the main scene of warfare, was to secure 
an imperial outpost on the road to India, 
enforce neutrality on the part of the 
Arabs, and protect important oil fields in 

57 



which the British were interested. The 
operations were conducted under the di- 
rection of the India office, and there was 
evident lack of co-operation with the war 
office at "Westminster. But, when Mr. 
Asquith spoke, all had gone well. The 
Turks had been driven up the Tigris, 
Kurna and Kut-el-Amara had been taken, 
and the Townshend expedition was near- 
ing Bagdad. Mr. Asquith finished his ref- 
erence to the campaign, by saying, *'I do 
not think that in the whole course of the 
war there has been a series of operations 
more carefully contrived, more brilliantly 
conducted, and with a better prospect of 
final success.** 

His optimism received a terrible shock 
the following month, when, within eighteen 
miles of Bagdad, General Townshend was 
routed by the Turks and forced to re- 
treat on Kut-el-Amara. There followed 
the long siege, and the desperate efforts 
of relieving forces under General Aylmer 
and Sir Percy Lake to break through the 
Turk cordon around the beleaguered city. 
Some progress was made in the opening 
months of 1916. The trenches at Umm-el- 
Henna were carried and the town of Fela- 
hie occupied in the first week of April. 
This brought the British to the powerful 
Sannayat position of the enemy, and here, 
on April 9, they were repulsed with a loss 
of 3,000 killed. On April 29 the starved, 
sick and exhausted garrison of Kut-el- 
Amara surrendered. General Townshend 
was sent to an island in the Sea of Mar- 
mora as a Turkish prisoner. The Turks 

68 



took 8,970 men, 514 officers, and $5,000,000 
in cash, according to their reports. Brit- 
ish forces are still holding the territory- 
south of Sannayat, and as the year ends 
successful operations have brought them 
within three miles of Kut-el-Amara. 

January 16, 1916, to October, 1916— FoI- The 
lowing the great retreat of the Russians, Campaign 
in September, 1915, the Grand Duke in Armenia. 
Nicholas was relieved of his command by 
the czar and sent to Tiflis, in the Caucasus, 
to recuperate. He did more than that. 
He organized an army for the conquest of 
Armenia. The Russians had several times 
crossed the frontier and engaged the 
Turks, but efforts hitherto had been spor- 
adic and inconclusive. It was not until 
January, 1916, that the Grand Duke was 
ready to move. On January 16 his ad- 
vance began. As the month ended he 
broke the Turkish front in the Caucasus 
along a line of forty miles. Pursuing his 
advantage he reached the outer forts of 
Erzeroum by the middle of February, and 
occupied the city on February 16. His 
offensive then spread in three directions 
— south, toward Lake Van; west, toward 
Erzingan, and northwest, toward Trebi- 
zond. A separate army advanced from 
the Caucasus along the Black Sea coast 
toward Trebizond. Early in March, he 
captured Bitlis, southeast of Erzeroum, 
and Rizeh, on the Black Sea, east of Trebi- 
zond, while troops from Erzeroum sur- 
rounded Baiburt on the road through the 
mountains north to Trebizond. 

{»9 



On April 18 Trebizond was taken in a 
combined action of the fleet and land 
forces. Over 50,000 Turks were driven 
into the mountains. Meantime the Rus- 
sians were advancing west of Erzeroum 
in the direction of Erzingan, and extend- 
ing their control of southern Armenia in 
the region of Mush, Bitlis and Diarbekr. 
Baiburt was lost and regained. In the 
middle of July the Russians took Brzin- 
gan, but were driven from Mush and Bit- 
lis. Late in August the two latter towns 
were reoccupied. In October, the Rus- 
sians, after a long delay, resumed opera- 
tions Avest of Trebizond, capturing Petra 
Kala, forty-five miles beyond. 

Operations are still in progress in Ar- 
menia and in Persia. The area of Russian 
occupation gradually extends. The end of 
this campaign can neither be told nor fore- 
told here. 

The May 16, 1916, to June 3, 1916— The Aus- 
Austrian trian offensive in the Trentino was a well 
Campaign conceived plan to reach the Italian plains 
Against and cut the rail communications with 
Italy, the Isonzo front, thus compelling a Latin 
retirement from the positions that threat- 
ened Goritz and Trieste. It began on 
May 16, 1916, and was checked by 
June 3. In that short space, however, 
the Austrians pushed through the moun- 
tains, captured the Arsiero region and 
reached the edge of the Italian plains. 
They were within twenty-five miles of 
their objective when the Latins brought 

60 



them to a halt, and began a counter offen- 
sive that gradually reconquered all the 
lost territory. The Italians were aided 
in bringing this serious menace to a sharp 
conclusion by the sudden drive of G-eneral 
Brussiloff into Bukowina and Galicia. 
Austrian troops had to be withdrawn from 
the Trentino front to meet the new Rus- 
sian advance. 



June 5, 1916, to September, 1916 — Gen- The 
eral Brussiloff began a great offensive Return 
against the Austro-German lines on June of the 
5, 1916. Since the halting of the German Russians, 
drive in the autumn of 1915, there had 
been sporadic fighting alon^ the whole 
front. Von Hindenburg had made per- 
sistent efforts to cross the Dvina, on the 
northern end, and occupy Dvinsk. In 
these attempts he was as persistently re- 
pulsed, and, indeed, had lost ground be- 
tween Jacobstadt and the Gulf of Riga. 
The Russians had made several ventures 
toward the invasion of Galicia and Buko- 
wina, but with only temporary success. 

The Brussiloff drive came as a surprise. 
It was not expected that Russia would un- 
dertake any great offensive until the 
spring of 1917. But it came at a welcome 
moment for the allies. The Austrians 
were over the Italian frontier, and Ver- 
dun was under teriffic pressure. 

Brussiloff struck at three main points — 
Kovel, in Volhynia, an important railroad 
junction, vital to the Teuton front; the 
Lutsk-Rovno-Dubno triangle of forts, and 
Czernowitz, the capital of Bukowina, 

61 



With a sudden sweep he captured Lutsk 
and Dubno before the middle of June, tak- 
ing" 75,000 Austrian prisoners. By June 
18, he was in possession of Czernowitz, 
and had begun his advance along the 
Dniester, toward Kolomea and Stanislau. 
West of Lutsk, and north along the line 
of the Stokhod river, opposite Kovel, he 
was fighting daily battles with the enemy, 
now re-enforced by troops dispatched 
from the western front. As June ended, 
he took Kolomea, in southeastern Galicia, 
and began an attack on the army of Von 
Bothmer, defending the approaches to 
Lemberg in positions along the Stripa 
river. Bothmer 's army was flanked by 
the Russian advance on the Dniester, and 
under heavy pressure against its front was 
forced to fall back from the Stripa. Mean- 
time, west of Lutsk, ground was gained 
in the direction of Vladimir Volynski. 

During July the Russians made vigorous 
assaults against the German front in the 
Riga region, and succeeded in achieving 
considerable advances at several points. 
As the month closed they crossed the 
Stokhod river, opposite Kovel. 

In August they resumed their Galician 
operations, pushing the enemy back in the 
vicinity of Brody, crossing the Sereth and 
capturing several villages. On August 11, 
Stanislau was captured, and the menace to 
Lemberg became so great that 150,000 
Turks were rushed north to aid in its de- 
fense. General Bothmer was forced to re- 

62 



treat beyond the Zlota Lip a, his right 
flank falling back on Halicz. 

Eenewed attacks on the Kovel front re- 
sulted in further gains. The Teuton de- 
fense was stiffening, however, and counter 
attacks became more frequent. Nothwith- 
standing this the Russians opened fire on 
Halicz early in September, driving the 
enemy across the Gnita Lipa. 

In mid-September the Teutons made a 
powerful assault, recapturing positions 
near Halicz and driving the Russians 
back on the Vladimir Volynski front. 
The Turkish army appeared on the 
firing line, and made its presence felt. 

In October the Roumanians cried for 
help, and the Russians had to turn their at- 
tention to the Bukowina-Moldavian front. 
Since then the progress in Galicia and 
Volhynia has been very slight. The of- 
fensive, however, wrested important terri- 
tory from the Teutons; cost them enor- 
mous losses in men ; helped the Italians 
and played its part in relieving Verdun. 
Its full value will be realized when the 
Russians move again. 

August 6, 1916, to September, 1916 — The 

The Italians, having driven their foes Italian 

from their soil on the Trentino front, early Isonzo ^ 

in August began preparations for another Campaign. 
great drive against the Goritz bridgehead 
and the Carso plateau. 

The attack came as a surprise to the Aus- 
trians, who had their hands pretty well 

es 



occupied with keeping the Russians out 
of Lemberg. It opened on August 6, the 
Latin guns concentrating their fire on 
Sabatino, San Michele and the bridge 
across the Isonzo that was protected by 
these mountain positions. On August 8, 
in a great charge they stormed and 
crossed the bridge, took the mountain for- 
tifications and reached Goritz. The city 
fell the following day, while the Italians 
drove forward routing the Carso positions 
of the enemy. 

Across the Carso plateau, south of Goritz, 
lies the road to Trieste. On August 11, 
the advance continued along a twelve-mile 
front. The whole Doberdo plateau was 
occupied, and further gains made on the 
Carso. Oppacchiasella was taken the next 
day. The advanced line of the Latin army 
reached positions within thirteen miles of 
Trieste. The offensive rested with this for 
a few weeks, to be resumed in September, 
when more ground was gained on the 
Carso plateau. 

In October and November the fighting 
shifted to the Trentino and other sectors 
of the Italian front, but the wedge has 
been driven far in toward Trieste, and the 
Italians are well placed for further suc- 
cessful operations. 

The August 27, 1916, to December, 1916 — 
Ill-Fat ed The story of why Roumania entered the 
Eouma,nian war before she was ready; of why she 
Campaign, risked everything on an invasion of Tran- 
sylvania, leaving the Danube unprotected 



and the Dobnidja open to the Bui gars, has 
not yet been told. It should be an inter- 
esting story when it comes from authori- 
tative sources. Well informed people say 
Roumania disregarded the advice of her 
allies, both in the time she chose to de- 
clare war, and in the plan of campaign she 
followed. Be that as it may some ill star 
presided over her operations. 

Roumania declared war on August 27, 
throwing her main forces at once across 
the Carpathian passes into Transylvania. 
Before the month ended she had occupied 
Orsova and Kronstadt, and the Vulcan 
pass was in her hands. The Teuton an- 
swer came with amazing swiftness. Gen- 
eral Von Mackensen with a Bulgar army 
pushed his way through Roumania 's back 
door, the Dobrudja, between the Danube 
and the Black Sea, and began a drive 
north to seize the Constanza-Chernavoda 
railroad, and the Chernavoda bridge 
across the Danube into Roumania proper. 
While the main Roumanian army was win- 
ning easy victories in Transylvania, Mac- 
kensen was advancing rapidly. Turtukai 
fell with barely a struggle. The menace 
was recognized as serious, and Bucharest 
recalled troops from the Transylvanian 
front to check it. Russian troops also 
came south from Bessarabia and joined 
the Roumanians in the Dobrudja. For a 
time they held Mackensen; but on the 
western frontier Von Falkenhayn was ad- 
vancing to free Transylvania. As Septem- 
ber closed, he defeated the Roumanians in 
battle at Hermanstadt. 

65 



Early in October, a rash coup was at- 
tempted. The Roumanians crossed the 
Danube at Turtukai in the rear of Mac- 
kensen. But they had no guns, and were 
quickly driven back. The fighting con- 
tinued with varying fortunes along the 
western mountain front, the Roumanians 
falling back on the passes, but holding 
them stubbornly. On October 23, Macken- 
sen took Constantza; two days later he 
took Chernavoda, the Russo-Roumanian 
force retreating into northern Dobrudja. 

It was not until the middle of November 
had passed that Von Falkenhayn began 
to seep through the mountains. Then 
events followed quickly. Orsova was cap- 
tured. The Vulcan and Red Tower passes 
were taken. Western Wallachia was en- 
tered. The Russians began a desperate 
effort to save Roumania by attacks on the 
Bukowina-Moldavia front, and for a few 
days made hopeful progress. It was of no 
avail, however. Von Falkenhayn swept on. 
He took Craiova on November 21. Then 
Mackensen forced a crossing of the Dan- 
ube southwest of Bucharest. The capital 
was now threatened from the northwest, 
west and south. In the opening days of 
December the Roumanians were defeated 
on the Arjish river, and fell back on 
Bucharest. On December 6, they aban- 
doned the capital, and the victorious Teu- 
tons entered it. The Russians screened the 
retreating Roumanians who fell back be- 
yond the Sereth to reorganize. The Rus- 
sians held the Danube-Sereth front as 
the year closed. 



August, 1916, (Contimiing)— The Mace- The 
donian campaign is only beginning. In Macedonian 
the latter part of August, 1916, there were Campaign. 
indications that General Sarrail's composite 
army, including French, British, Russians, 
Serbians, Greeks and Italians, was on the 
eve of an important advance. 

In the region south of Monastir, in the 
Vardar valley and along the Struma, there 
were skirmishes. The Anglo-French forces 
seized the station at Doiran. In Septem- 
ber the Franco-Serbian forces on the Mon- 
astir front began an advance. The British 
crossed the Struma. The Serbs, fighting 
in the mountains on the border, captured 
the summit of Kaimacalan ridge and won 
an insecure foothold on their own soil. 
Narrow as it was, hov/ever, they held it 
and extended it. On October 9, they 
crossed the Cerna river, and began the 
now famous operations in its elbow, des- 
tined to turn the Bulgar flank in front of 
Monastir. On October 18, they took the 
village of Brod. IJxactly a month later 
they and their allies routed the Bulgar 
line and entered the city of Monastir. 
Since that time the Serbs have made 
steady progress in an advance that is 
aimed at Prilep. 



67 



THE GREAT BATTLES 



August 4-19, 1914— The attack on Liege, Liege. 
the fortified Belgian city guarding the pas- 
sage of the Meuse, began on August 4, 
1914. The garrison and field army con- 
sisted of not more than 40,000 men un- 
der the gallant General Leman. Against 
it were three German army corps — over 
120,000 men. The city was surrounded 
by six major and six minor forts, designed 
in 1886 by General Brialmont. The Ninth 
and Fourteenth Belgian line regiments 
held the field positions guarding the ap- 
proaches to the forts. It was these regi- 
ments that met the massed attacks of the 
Germans, and that were gradually driven 
back into the city. On August 6, one of 
the forts was silenced; on August 7, the 
Germans entered the city, but several of 
the forts still held out. Not until Sun- 
day, August 9, were they completely in- 
vested. For six days General Leman 
maintained his defense, sticking to the 
last fort until it had been reduced to a 
heap of ruins, and he, himself, suffocating 
with the gas from exploding shells, was 
taken prisoner. The enemy, impressed by 
his great courage, allowed him to retajn 
his sword. 

August 21-23, 1914— The battles of Mons Mons and 
and Charleroi marked the beginning of Charleroi. 
the great allied retreat to the Marne. The 
French held the line along the Sambre, 

69 



from Namur west to Charleroi; west of 
them again two British army corps^ — ^the 
first arrivals of the British expeditionary 
force — held positions based on Mons. The 
French army of the Meiise had suffered re- 
verse and fallen back along the Meuse to- 
ward Givet, leaving the right wing of the 
army of the Sarabre exposed. Early on Fri- 
day morning, August, 21, a column of Uh- 
lans broke into Charleroi. It was a misty 
morning, and they were hailed as British 
troops. This mistake was soon discovered, 
and the battle of Charleroi began. By Sun- 
day afternoon Namur had fallen, and Gen- 
eral Yon Hansen was advancing on the ex- 
posed flank of the army of the Sambre. 
General French was tardily advised of 
the serious turn events were taken, and 
received the news after his own flank at 
Mons has been uncovered by the retreat 
of his ally. Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien 
held the line along the canal to the west 
of Mons, and Sir Douglas Haig held that 
along the Binche road, to the east. His 
right flank was covered the Fifth Cavalry 
Brigade. The German attack began on 
Sunday morning. General French as yet 
unaware of the events that were happen- 
ing at Charleroi. All day Sunday the 
British kept the Germans at bay, beating 
them back as they attacked in mass. But 
Sunday evening General French received 
word from General Joffre that the enemy 
was in much larger numbers than had 
been thought, and a retreat was decided 
upon. The British found themselves left 
without support by the French, who had 

70 



already retired and were still fallini? 
back. In this situation there was nothing 
to be done but escape from a situation 
threatening serious disaster. 

September 6-13, 1914— The decisive battle The Maine, 
of the war, the battle that made Teuton 
victory impossible, lives in history as the 
battle of the Marne. It was, in reality, 
much more general than the name indi- 
cates. The opposing: forces were in con- 
tact from Paris to Verdun, on a front of 
180 miles. To this position the allied 
troops retired, forming a crescentic front 
between the fortifications of the French 
capital and the fortified line of Verdun- 
Toul. The concavity of the crescent faced 
the enemy. Joffre was resDonsible for the 
strategy of the battle. He disposed his 
troops so that General Maunoury's army 
covered Paris, standing to the northeast of 
the city; General D'Esperey, with the Fifth 
army was directly to the east of Maunoury; 
General Foch, ea^t of the Fifth, held the 
center with the Seventh, and to the east 
of him was General DeLansrle, with the 
Fourth: General Sarrail, with the Third, 
was at Verdun. 

The Germans, swinging on Verdun as a 
pivot, approached the French -positions 
with the army of Von Kluek on the west- 
ern end. Von Buelow, the Saxons and the 
Duke of Wurtemberg in the center, and 
the Crown Prince on the eastern, or Ver- 
dun end. 

71 



Von Kluck, who had been attempting to 
encircle the British flank, was compelled to 
draw in across the front of Paris in order 
to concentrate for the blow on the French 
line. The British were occupying by this 
time a reserve position in the rear of Mau- 
nonry, and a second reserve of French 
troops from the garrison of Paris was also 
behind Maunonry, but further north and 
west than the British. Von Kluck swept 
past Maunoury's army, and struck at P'Bs- 
perey's. This was the chance for which 
Joffre had waited. He swung Maunoury's 
army against Von Kluck 's right flank on 
the Ourcq river. The Germans brought up 
reenforcements and attempted to break the 
flank, but they were met by the reserve 
from the Paris garrison, and at the same 
time the British came into action with 
D'Esperey's army. Von Kluck held his 
flank long enough to withdraw his ad- 
vanced troops, and then beat a retreat. So 
doing he uncovered Von Buelow's flank, 
against which D'Esperey now hurled his 
forces while Foch drove hard on its front. 
Von Buelow retreated, and uncovered the 
Saxons and the Duke of Wurtemberg, 
whose flanks now felt Foch's blow. This 
left De Langle free to meet the Crown 
Prince coming through the Argonne with 
Sarrail on his left. 

Thus Paris and the Verdun line of the 
Meuse were saved. By September 12 the 
whole Germany army was in retreat. 

72 



September 1, 1914 — The battle of Tannen- Tannenberg. 
berg deserves to be remembered because 
the reverse suffered by the Russians was 
the price they paid for a daring invasion 
of East Prussia designed to aid their allies 
on the west front at an hour of great crisis. 
It is memorable, too, as the first dramatic 
appearance of General Von Hindenburg in 
the role of the German deliverer. The Rus- 
sians lost 80,000 men in killed, wounded 
and prisoners, and were forced to retreat 
to their fortified line on the Niemen. 

October 21-31, 1914— The battle of the Yser. 
Yser, in Flanders, was the beginning of the 
futile efforts of the Germans to redeem the 
defeat at the Marne by driving through the 
allied front to Calais. The Yser rises in 
France, east of Dunkirk, and flows through 
the southwestern corner of Belgium, turn- 
ing suddenly west to Dixmude and con- 
tinuing at right angles to its former course 
to the sea. Along the Yser, between Dix- 
mude and Nieuport, on the coast, the brave 
little remnant of the Belgian army had 
taken its stand. Here the Germans at- 
tacked them. They succeeded in crossing 
the river and entered Nieuport after suffer- 
ing heavy losses. But the Belgians cut 
the dykes, and flooded them out. British 
war ships also aided by bombarding their 
positions. As the month ended the Ger- 
mans were forced back across the Yser 
where they have been held ever since. It 
is the Belgian oath that the Yser will never 
again be crossed, and 200,000 Belgians are 
still there to see that the oath is kept. 

73 



First Battle October 31 — November 16, 1914 — ^Ypres, 
of Ypres. in Flanders, lay at an angle in the allied 
line which bent around it at some distance 
from the city. The British held thirty miles 
with about 150,000 men. To break the line 
at Ypres meant to open a way to Calais. 
The Germans attacked with forces at least 
three times the number of the defenders. 
They drove the British slowly back until 
Ypres was under bombardment, and 
crumbling beneath the enemy shells. But 
the line held. It was re-enforced to some 
extent by the French as the fighting pro- 
ceeded. On November 15, the Kaiser ar- 
rived on the scene and sent his Prussian 
Guard in to give the final crushing blow. 
But the Prussian Guard crumpled against 
the contemptible little araiy of England, 
and the Kaiser abandoned the effort for 
a time. His losses were estimated at 150,- 
000 men. 

Lodz. November 19 — December 3, 1914 — Lodz 
stands out in the story of the war on the 
eastern front as the narrowest escape from 
disaster the German arm^y has experienced 
in fighting with the Russians. Lodz was 
reached in the course of a Russian retreat 
with German armios pres^ins: on the front 
and both flanks. The battle began with all 
the signs of a great German victory. Ber- 
lin was already celebrating the destruc- 
tion of the Czar's army, when suddenly 
Russian masses, hurried from Warsaw, 
swept down on the Germans, caught them 
in the rear, and turned the tables com- 
pletely. With great bravery the forces of 

74 



Von Hindenbnrg fought to free themselves 
from the trap. Re-enforcements were hur- 
ried to their aid from the west front, and, 
after suffering immense losses, escape was 
effected. The Russians, under the pres- 
sure of the re-enforced enemy, evacuated 
Lodz on December 3, and Berlin contin- 
ued its interrupted celebration, claiming 
the capture of 100,000 prisoners. 

February 12, 1915— The battle of the Ma- Mazurian 
zurian Lakes, in East Prussia, was Von Lakes. 
Hindenburg's answer to the second inva- 
sion of the German province. The Russian 
Tenth army had gradually advanced until 
it faced a region of lake and bog. At some 
points it had penetrated on the ice and 
frozen swamp into the dangerous ground. 
Inferior forces confronted the Czar's army, 
and were falling back slowly. Behind this 
screen Von Hindenburg swdftly concen- 
trated a large force recruited from the 
front in Poland. Suddenly he struck the 
Russians on both flanks. Caught in the in- 
tricate lake district, and as yet unaware of 
the enemy's strength, they fought to free 
themselves instead of retreating. The result 
was disastrous. They lost 100,000 prisoners 
and probably 150,000 in killed and wound- 
ed. They were driven out of East Prussia, 
and fled in disorder across Suwalki toward 
Grodno and Ossowetz. For just such a 
chance as this Von Hindenburg is said to 
have made a special study of the Mazur- 
ian Lake region years before the war be- 
gan. 

75 



Neuve March 10, 1915— The battle of Neuve Cha- 
Chapelle. pelle, in northern France near the Flan- 
ders line, and west of Lille, seems a trifling 
incident now. It deserves importance from 
the fact that it was the first British of- 
fensive effort following the Marne. It gave 
the first demonstration of the use of con- 
centrated artillery fire to break up trench 
defenses, and it hinted at the coming strat- 
egy of the allies on the western front. Neuve 
Chapelle was taken, but at a cost of 13,- 
000 casualties to the British — more than 
twice those suffered at Waterloo. Blunders 
were made that detracted from the victory, 
but taught lessons of immense value. The 
allies were sobered by the realization of the 
sacrifices that any general offensive would 
demand, based upon the losses in this small 
engagement. German losses were estimated 
at 20,000. 

The Second April 22-25, 1916— Tliis battle will live in 
Battle of Canadian history forever. It was begun by 
Ypres. the Germans releasing billows of poisonous 
gas that were carried by the breeze into 
the trenches of French colonial troops west 
of the Canadian positions. The French re- 
treated in disorder, creating a gap through 
which the Germans poured. The Cana- 
dians extended their line to close the gap, 
stopped the German advance and held their 
positions for three days and three nights 
until re-enforcements arrived. They were 
greatly outnumbered. This was the first 
use of poisonous gas as a means of war- 
fare. 

76 



May 3, 1915— The battle of the Donajee The 
river began the great Russian retreat in Donajec. 
Galicia and Poland that ended with the 
capture of the Vistula and Niemen de- 
fenses, Brest Litovsk and the Rovno-Dub- 
no-Lutsk triangle. It made Mackensen's 
reputation as a strategist and general. The 
Russians held the whole Carpathian front 
between Galicia and Hungary, their line 
turning northward along the Donajec into 
Poland. It was against this Donajec flank- 
ing line that Mackensen hurled his forces 
after a bombardment up to that time un- 
precedented. 

September 25-30, 1915 — This was the sec- The 
ond great effort of the French in the Cham- Champagne. 
pagne. The first coincided with the second 
battle of Ypres. This battle is memorable 
because it demonstrated the possibility of 
driving the enemy from powerfully forti- 
fied trench positions, and breaking through 
his line. The French took 23,000 pris- 
oners and over 100 guns in five days' fight- 
ing. 

February 21, 1916 — No effort will be made Verdun. 
here to describe what will live after this 
war as one of the greatest battles in his- 
tory. The battle of the Somme is alone 
comparable with it. It had employed more 
soldiers, cost a larger number of casualties 
and lasted longer than any conflict on a lim- 
ited and strictly localized front in this or 
any other war, up to the beginning of the 
Somme drive in July, 1916. It was marked 
by a tenacious but slowly retreating de- 

77 



fense on the part of the French. In the 
latter part of June the Germans reached 
their positions northeast of Verdun within 
the inner circle of the fortifications. The 
opening of the Somme offensive brought a 
halt to their campaign. In the autumn the 
French began slowly to regain lost ground. 
On October 24 they made a great attack, 
advancing two miles on a four mile front, 
and recapturing the fort and village of 
Douaumont. A few days later they took 
Fort Vaux and reoccupied the village. On 
December 15 they advanced again for an- 
other two miles on a seven mile front, cap- 
turing 11,000 prisoners and many cannon 
and machine guns. The tide has definitely 
turned. Verdun has cost the Germans prob- 
ably 500,000 men. It is thus far their big- 
gest failure. 

Somme. July 1, 1916— The battle of the Somme is 
only the beginning of bigger battles — the 
initial impetus to the "Big Push," in the 
belief of the allies. It has driven a bulge 
into the German front 20 miles in breadth, 
and nine miles deep at its deepest point. It 
has captured scores of villages and fortified 
positions, conquered the ridge overlooking 
Bapaume, cost the Germans an estimated 
loss of 700,000 men, including 95,000 pris- 
oners, and 135 heavy guns, 180 field pieces 
and 1,438 machine guns. The Germans 
estimate the allied losses — French and 
British— at between 800,000 and 900,000. 
The winter rainy season has temporarily 
checked allied operations in this field. 

78 



NAVAL BATTLES 

November 1, 1914 — A German squadron, Coronel. 
under Admiral von Spee, overhauled a 
British squadron of lighter armament off 
Coronel, Chile. Rear-Admiral Craddock 
was in command of the British. His flag- 
ship, the Good Hope, was sunk, and the 
cruiser Monmouth met like fate. 

December 8, 1914 — ^A British cruiser Falkland 
squadron took revenge for the battle of Islands. 
Coronel by defeating the victorious squad- 
ron under Admiral von Spee. The Ger- 
man flagship, Scharnhorst, and the battle 
cruisers, Gneisenau, Leipzig and Numberg 
were sunk. The British suffered only 
slight damage. Vice-Admiral Sturdee was 
in command of the British squadron. 

January 24, 1915 — A British patrolling North Sea. 
squadron, under Vice-Admiral Beatty, de- 
feated a German raiding squadron, sinking 
the battle cruiser Blucher, and seriously 
damaging two other battle cruisers. The 
British cruisers Lion and Tiger suffered, 
but were able to make port under their 
own steam. 

May 31, 1916 — This was the greatest naval Jutland. 
battle of the war. It was fought off the 
coast of Denmark between the British bat- 
tle cruiser fleet, under Vice-Admiral 
Beatty, and the German high seas fleet. 
The battle began in the afternoon and con- 
tinued until darkness enabled the German 
ships to escape, just as the British dread- 

79 



naughts were arriving on the scene. Los- 
ses were heavy on both sides — heavier on 
the British side, but the victory was with 
the British, who held the sea after the 
enemy had retired to the shelter of his 
coast fortifications and mined waters. The 
British lost three battle cruisers — the 
Queen Mary, Indefatigable and Invincible ; 
three armored cruisers — the Defense, War- 
rior and Black Prince, and eight destroyers. 
Their loss in life was 5,613. 

The Germans admit the loss of one battle- 
ship, the Pomimern, one battle cruiser, the 
Lutzow, four cruisers and five destroyers. 
Their loss in life was 3,966. 

SIEGES 

Maubeuge. August 23— September 7, 1914— French 
fortified town on Belgian frontier. Be- 
sieged after fall of Namur. Detained big 
guns that might have been used on Yerdun 
or Paris. The siege lasted 15 days. 

Antwerp. September 28 — October 9, 1914 — After the 
fall of Brussels the Belgians retired to Ant- 
werp. During the advance to the Marne 
and the retreat they harrassed the German 
rear. This led to the siege. British ma- 
rines were sent to aid, but the German 
guns were too much for the brave garrison. 
The siege lasted 11 days. 

Przemysl. October 11, 1914— March 22, 1915— The 
Galician city was invested by the Russians 
while their conquest of the Galicia pro- 
ceeded. The siege lasted 162 days. 

80 



January 2, 1916— April 29, 1916— General Kut-el- 
Townshend retreated from Bagdad, after Amara. 
being defeated by the Turks, and was sur- 
rounded in the town of Kut on the Tigris. 
Vain efforts were made to relieve him. He 
surrendered with 9,000 survivors after a 
siege of 117 days. 

PRISONERS OF WAR 

On August 1, 1916, the Central Powers 
held the following prisoners of war: 

In Germany 1,663,794 

In Austria 942,489 

In Bulgaria 38,000 

In Turkey 14,000 

Total 2,658,283 

Of these 1,981,631 are Russians; 360,000 
French; 37,000 British; 43,000 Belgians, 
and 25,000 Serbians. 

The Entente Allies held in round num- 
bers 1,750,000, of whom over 1,000,000 were 
Austrians, and probably 500,000 Germans; 
the balance being composed of Bulgars and 
Turks. Since August 1, at least 400,000 
have been added to this total, while the 
Central Powers have added perhaps 300,- 
000 through their operations in Roumania 
and elsewhere. 



SI 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



Page 

Africa, War in 92 

Battles, Land: 

Champagne 77 

Donajec 77 

Liege 69 

Lodz 74 

Marne 71 

Mazurian Lakes 75 

Mons and Charleroi 69 

Neuve Chapelle 76 

Somme 78 

Tanneberg 73 

Verdun 77 

Ypres, First Battle 74 

Ypres, Second Battle 76 

Yser 73 

Battles, Naval: 

Coronel 79 

Falkland Islands 79 

Jutland 79 

North Sea 79 

Belgium, Germany in 95 

British Colonies in the War 96 

British War Charity 96 

Campaigns, the Great: 

Armenia, Russian Campaign in 59 

Austrian Campaign Against Italy 60 

Belgium, Conquest of 41 

Galicia, Russian Campaigns in 47 



Campaigns, the Great — Continued: 

Gallipoli 54 

German Campaigns for Warsaw 50 

Italian Isonzo Campaign 63 

Macedonia 67 

Mesopotamia 57 

Mons to the Marne 43 

Return of the Russians 61 

Roumania 64 

Serbia's Victorious Defense 46 

Serbia Conquered by Austrians 53 

Chronology of the War Month by Month. 5-37 

Cost of War 87 

Declarations of War 83 

Distance Measurements 98 

Fighting Forces 84 

Greece, Why Allies Are in 93 

Losses of War, Human 85 

Military Terms 97 

Prisoners of War 81 

Sieges 80 

Submarine Losses 91 

Territory Conquered 89 

Zeppelin Raids 90 



The following tables give the estimated Human 
losses of the entente and Teuton allies up Losses. 
to the end of 1916: 

Country Dead Wounded Total Entente 

France 980,000 2,650,000 3,630,000 ^'^^' 

Kussia 1,600,000 4,000,000 5,600,000 

Gt. Britain. . 380,000 835,500 1,215,500 

Italy 190,000 425,000 615,000 

Serbia 120,000 150,000 270,000 

Roumania .. 100,000 200,000 300,000 

Totals ...3,370,000 8,260,500 11,630,500 

Country Dead Wounded Total Teuton 

Germany ..1,100,000 2,750,000 3,850,000 Allies. 

Austria-H. . 950,000 2,375,000 3,325,000 
Bulgaria ... 50,000 100,000 150,000 
Turkey .... 210,000 425,000 635,000 

Totals ....2,310,000 5,650,000 7,960,000 

These estimates are largely guess work, 
and nothing better can be had. Nor are 
they of much value, since there are many 
factors that must be considered in any 
effort to form an accurate conception of 
the man power of the belligerent nations. 
Allowance must be made in the wounded 
column for those who recover and return 
to the front. Sickness must be counted as 
well as battle casualties, and the quality 
of the reserves employed to fill the gaps 
is an important factor. 

More interesting than the above tables, 
or any table, is the analysis of German re- 

8g 



serve power made by Hillaire Belloc in the 
issue of Land and Water for November 2, 
1916. His elaborate process cannot be 
given here, but these are his conclusions 
based on as ample data as can be had by 
any man outside of Germany : 

''The reserve of man power available up 
to, say, August of next year, is not more 
than 1,310,000 or 1,320,000 upon a general 
estimate. It may well in practice prove 
to be not over 1,200,000. It cannot upon 
any calculation be made to reach a mil- 
lion and a half. 

*'That is a replacement of one man in 
five, but not one man in four of the existing 
German armies. In other words, of every 
^ve men, the first man who falls or who 
is sick can be replaced, but the next one 
cannot. This round figure of 1,130,000 to 
1,320,000 is arrived at by the consideration 
of four categories : The depots ; the men 
capable of service before next summer not 
yet called; the men now in hospital who 
will return cured; the men capable of 
bearing arms, but kept back for necessary 
work within the country. 

"Of these four categories only the first 
three are available as a reserve of man 
power. These three amount: The first to 
some 560,000 men; the second to some 
150,000 men, or at the most 160,000 men; 
the third to not more at the very most 
than 600,000 men. The total of these is 
1,310,000 to 1,320,000." 

86 



Since Mr. Belloc made the calculations 
leading to this interesting conclusion sev- 
eral things have happened that may affect 
it. Germany has had to make consider- 
able draft on this limited reserve for the 
Roumanian campaign, but, to off-set it, she 
has laid her plans to recruit a Polish army, 
and has deported thousands of Belgians 
to take the place of men included by Mr. 
Belloc in his fourth, or unavailable, cate- 
gory. 

The bid for peace, following so quickly 
after the draft on reserves to meet the 
Roumanian menace, sustains the belief of 
Mr. Belloc that Germany is nearing the 
end of her human resources. 

On December 14, 1916, the British parlia- The Cost 
ment was asked to vote additional war of the 
credit to the amount of $2,000,000,000. War. 
This, it was told, would meet expenditures 
until February 24, 1917. 

The voting of this $2,000,000,000 brought 
the total war credits since August, 1914, 
up to the immense sum of $19,260,000,000. 
The daily rate of expenditure was re- 
ported to have reached $28,550,000. 

Great Britain has made immense loans 
to her allies. Her borrowings amounted 
on recent reports to the staggering total 
of $13,840,000,000, but it is estimated at 
least one-quarter of this has been loaned 
to Russia, Serbia, Roumania and other 
countries — some of it to Greece. Only 
$4,500,000,000 of the borrowed money is in 

87 



long-term loans. All the rest is in the 
form of floating debt. 

She is said to have paid practically one- 
third of her war bills out of new taxation, 
besides all the heavy interest charges from 
current receipts. 

The British dominions have made no 
drafts on the mother land. They have 
thus far borne their own burdens. 

France, by the end of 1916, was estimated 
to have spent or incurred obligations since 
the beginning of the war amounting to 
64,000,000,000 francs, or nearly $13,000,- 
000,000. Of this amount $1,800,000,000 
has come from the ordinary treasury re- 
ceipts; $2,600,000,000 is from short term 
national defense bonds; $2,300,000,000 
from the first war loan ; $352,000,000 from 
the American loan ; $1,800,000,000 was ad- 
vanced by the Bank of France, and the 
balance came from short term bonds, 
bonds negotiated abroad, and advances 
from the bank of Algiers and other 
sources. France expects her second war 
loan to clean up all immediate obligations, 
and give her a clear start in the new year. 
Russia 's war cost for two and a half years 
totals approximately $12,500,000,000. Italy 
has spent so far nearly $4,000,000,000. The 
expense to the other allies is estimated at 
about $2,250,000,000. 

The total daily cost of the entente allies 
is put at about $75,000,000. 

ts 



August 23 — French defeated at Charleroi, 
and Anglo-French retreat from Belgium 
begins. Russians advance in East Prussia. 
Austrians are driven from Serbia. Japan 
declares war on Germany. 

August 26 — New French ministry formed. 
Anglo-French forces continue retreat. 
Louvain is burned. Russians win in East 
Prussia, occupying Allenstein, and begin 
attack on Lemberg, in Galicia. 

August 29 — Germans pass second line of 
French defense. 

August 31 — Allies fall back on Paris and 
the Seine. 

The month is memorable for the battle September, 
of the Mame; Von Hindenburg's victory 1914. 
at Tannenberg; the fall of Lemberg and 
the beginning of the siege of Antwerp. 

September 1 — Von Kluck's army reaches 
Senlis, 25 miles north of Paris. Von Hin- 
denburg routs the Russians at Tannenberg, 
and Russians occupy Lemberg, in Galicia. 

September 3 — French government leaves 
Paris for Bordeaux. Von Kluck begins 
his turning movement toward the Mame. 

September 6 — Battle of the Mame begins 
with attack on Von Kluck's flank. 

September 7 — ^Von Kluck begins retreat of 
German right wing. 

September 10 — Whole German army in re- 
treat from Marne. 



September 12 — Battle of the Aisne begins. 

September 21 — The U-9 sinks British, 
cruisers Gressy, La Hogue and Aboukir 
in North Sea. 

September 24 — Germans reach Niemen 
river in Russia, and drive wedge across 
Meuse at St. Mihiel, south of Verdun. 

September 28 — Siege of Antwerp begins. 

October, The extension of the battle line to the 
1914. North Sea coast, and the beginning of 
trench warfare in France and Flanders 
characterize this month. In the east the 
Germans reached Warsaw and were driven 
back, and Turkey entered the war. Re- 
bellion broke out in South Africa. 

October 4 — The Germans, having been de- 
feated on the Niemen, fall back on the 
East Prussian frontier. Belgian govern- 
ment leaves Antwerp for Ostend. 

October 8 — Antwerp surrenders, and Ger- 
mans enter the following day. 

October 12 — The Maritz-Beyer-De Wet re- 
bellion begins in South Africa. 

October 13 — Belgian government leaves 
Ostend for Havre. 

October 14 — British take Ypres. 

October 17 — Germans reach the Vistula, in 
Russia, and bombard Warsaw and Ivah- 
gorod. 

10 



from a half to three quarters of a million 
dollars each, have been destroyed during 
the war. 

SUBMARINE LOSSES 

Sir Norman Hill, Secretary of the Liver- 
pool Steamship Owner's Association, makes 
calculations that the effect of the German 
campaign on British shipping has been as 
follows : 

In the twenty-seven months of war from 
August, 1914, to October, 1916, 435 steam 
vessels of more than 1,600 tons, represent- 
ing 1,774,000 tons gross register, were lost 
through war perils. Great Britain started 
the war with 3,600 steamships of 16,000,000 
tons gross, so that the losses represent 12 
per cent, in numbers or 11 per cent, in ton- 
nage, being less than one-half of 1 per 
cent, a month. 

The value of the cargoes is calculated at 
0.49 per cent, of the total by Sir Norman 
who adds : ' ' A ten shillings in one hundred 
pounds blockade will never starve us." 

A recent list of merchant steamships and 
sailing vessels lost in the war as a result of 
submarine attack, striking mines, or other 
hostile activities shows that in the six 
months that ended Sept. 30, 1916, vessels 
were destroyed or damaged at the average 
rate of almost four ships a day. Since the 
date the list was compiled it is said that 
the ratio of ships destroyed has remained 
about the same, which would add more than 
250 vessels to the total. 

SI 



From the beginning of the war in 
August, 1914, to September 30, 1916, the 
number of merchant vessels destroyed or 
seriously damaged was 1,840, of a total 
gross register of 3,381,100 tons. Of these 
ships, 1,438 flew the flag of belligerent and 
402 of neutral nations. The lost tonnage 
of the belligerent nations in the period of 
the war to September 30 was 2,756,583 and 
that of the neutral ships 624,317. 

Another disclosure in the latest compila- 
tion is that the neutral ships destroyed 
since April 1 comprise nearly one-fifth of 
the total tonnage lost; in other words, the 
belligerents lost 840,487 tons and the neu- 
trals 234,383. Of the Entente nations, Eng- 
land's losses in the six months covered by 
the compilation totaled 534,454, Italy's 
146,855, France's 61,561, Japan's 9,708, 
Russia's 7,354, and Belgium 3,413 tons. Of 
the Central powers, Germany leads with a 
loss of 35,655 tons, Turkey is next with 
33,810 tons, and Austria-Hungary next 
with 7,667 tons. 

Among the neutral nations, the greatest 
loss suffered was that of Norway — sixty- 
nine ships, with a total tonnage of 89,082. 
The other neutral tonnage losses in order 
were: Spain, 28,456; Sweden, 27,355; 
Greece, 25,342; Denmark, 21,932; United 
States, 13,783; Brazil, 2,258 tons.— New 
York Times. 

THE WAR IN AFEICA 

Military operations in Africa have re- 
ceived small attention in pre^ reports, 



although of considerable importance. Three 
great German colonies have been con- 
quered — The Cameroon, German Southwest 
Africa and German East Africa. 

The Cameroon was conquered by joint 
operations of the British and French, the 
work being completed by February 18, 
1916. 

German Southwest Africa was the trophy 
of General Botha, after suppressing the Af- 
rican rebellion and capturing DeWet. The 
conquest was completed May 13, 1915. 

German East Africa fell to the com- 
bined efforts of British, Portuguese and 
Belgian troops. It was a long and arduous 
campaign. The work was practically fin- 
ished with the occupation of the German 
provisional seat of government, Mrogoro, 
August 26, 1916. 

The following statistics give some idea 
of what these conquests mean : 

Country Area sq. m. Populat'n Exports 

1911, mks. 
Cameroon ..191,130 2,720,000 21,250,883 
S.W. Afr'a 322,450 95,000 28,573,244 
E. Africa ..384,000 10,000,000 22,437,760 



Totals ...897,580 12,815,000 72,261,887 

WHY THE ALLIES ARE IN GREECE 

The presence of the allies in Greece has 
been criticised by people who either do 
not know the facts or do not care to know 

93 



them. Comparison has been made between 
the allied action in Greece and German 
conduct in Belgium, Here is the true 
comparison : 

Germany violated a treaty to enter 
Belgium. 

The allies entered Greece to keep a 
treaty. 

Germany entered Belgium by violence. 

The allies entered Greece by invitation of 
the constitutional government, of which 
Venizelos was then premier. 

Germany killed Belgians and burned 
their towns. 

The allies have respected the lives and 
property of the Greeks. 

Germany has bled Belgium white with 
taxation. 

The allies have kept Greece alive with 
loans. 

Great Britain, France and Russia are the 
three powers that gave Greece its independ- 
ence and placed the father of Constantine 
on the throne. They are obligated by 
treaty to preserve the dynasty and the con- 
stitutional government of Greece. The 
treaty further provides that they may land 
troops on Greek soil by common agree- 
ment among themselves in order to fulfill 
their treaty obligations. 

When Constantine refused to recognize 
the vote of the people that returned the 

94 



Veiiizelist government after its forced 
resignation he over-threw constitutional 
government. This fact justifies the pres- 
ence of the allies in Greece, aside from their 
invitation, and aside from the fact that 
thej^ are there to fulfill for Greece her 
treaty pledge to Serbia, which Constantine 
refused to keep. 

GERMANY IN BELGIUM 

The report of the commission headed by 
Lord Bryce found, in summary, the fol- 
lowing indictment against Germany in 
Belgium : 

1. In many parts of Belgium deliberate 
and systematically organized massacres of 
the civil population. 

2. Large numbers of instances in which 
individual citizens were murdered, women 
violated and children slain. 

3. Looting, house burning and wanton 
destruction of property ordered and 
countenanced by officers of the German 
army. Provision made for systematic in- 
cendiarism. All being part of a system of 
general terrorism. 

4. Rules and usages of war broken by 
using civilians, including women and chil- 
dren, as a shield for advancing forces ; to a 
less degree by killing wounded and pris- 
oners. Frequent abuse of red cross and 
white flag. 

To this may be added a constantly in- 
creasing burden of taxation ; the removal of 

95 



agricultural implements and industrial ma- 
chinery to Germany, and, finally, the de- 
portation of many thousands of Belgian 
men to serve as the slaves of German home 
industries. 

BRITISH COLONIES AND THE WAR 

Australia and New Zealand have sent to 
the front nearly 250,000 men, and 50,000 
more are under enlistment. Canada has 
sent about the same number, and on Decem- 
ber 15 had enlisted a total of 381,438 out 
of her 7,500,000 population. The Anzaes 
and the Canadians have distinguished 
themselves for their skill and bravery. 
These over-seas dominions have borne all 
the expense of their own forces^ — enlist- 
ment, training, equipment and transporta- 
tion. It should be kept in mind that these 
colonial araiies are made up wholly of vol- 
unteers. Neither their own governments 
nor the government of Great Britain has 
used any compulsion to recruit them. India 
has done valiant service and given largely 
in both men and money. South Africa has 
conquered an empire of hundreds of thou- 
sands of square miles. 

BRITISH WAR CHARITY 

It is estimated that over $300,000,000 has 
been raised in the British empire for char- 
ities growing out of the war. Of this 
aimount $75,000,000 has been devoted to 
the needs of her allies, the larger share of 
which has gone to Belgium. 



MILITARY TERMS IN FREQUENT 
USE 

A military force comprising all arms of Anny. 
the land service — infantry, cavalry, artil- 
lery, aeroplanes, engineers, signal corps 
and red cross. The term is often used to 
signify the whole military establishment 
of a nation, although this, as a matter of 
fact, is usually constituted in several aiTQies 
each under its own commander. An army 
is subdivided into army corps, divisions, 
brigades, regiments, battalions and com- 
panies. 

Literally * ' barrier fire, ' ' sometimes called Barrage Fire. 
"curtain fire." A concentrated artillery 
bombardment so directed as to interpose a 
rain of shells between the attackers and 
the enemy, thus holding the enemy in his 
trenches. It is used sometimes to prevent 
an enemy attack, and sometimes to prevent 
reserves from coming to the aid of a posi- 
tion which is under attack. 

Four companies of about 250 men each, in Battalion. 
all about 1,000 men. 

Two regiments, or six battalions; about Brigade. 
6,000 men. 

Usually two divisions, or about 40,000 men. Corps. 
In the German army about 43,000 men. 

Two brigades, or about 20,000 men, includ- Division. 
ing artillery and often cavalry. In the 
German artny it consists sometimes of 
three brigades. 

97 



Enfilade. A flanking fire from artillery, machine 
guns or rifles. 

Eschelon. A step-like formation of an attacking front. 
The steps are formed by the front being 
pushed forward to increasingly greater 
depths at more or less regular intervals of 
space. It permits of combined frontal and 
flank attacks. 

Redoubt. A field fortification; an earthwork conceal- 
ing guns. 

Regiment. Three battalions; about 3,000 men. 

Salient, a position that projects into the enemy 
front, and so exposes two sides to attack. 

Sector. A certain specified and limited portion of 
a battle front upon which one of the sub- 
ordinate units of an army may be operat- 
ing. 

DISTANCE MEASUREMENTS 

Meter. About 3 feet 3 inches. Exactly 39.37 
inches. 

Kilometer. About two-thirds of a mile. Exactly .62137 
of a mile. 

Verst. Often used in Russian dispatches. About 
two-thirds of a mile; a little more than a 
kilometer. 



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